Our third day in Minneapolis was actually the reason we came there in the first place – to attend a graduation! The story is actually pretty funny, Derek completed his studies a decade ago but somehow never graduated because he moved away right after school so this year he decided that it’s time to wrap it up. They could have just mailed the diploma but we thought it would be fun to go and do it in person hence this little trip.

I have never been to a graduation in the US so for me it was extra interesting, I don’t even know who was more excited me or Derek, haha. We got his cap and gown the day before and splurged on a bow tie with the university logo (which I ended up putting on Derek UPSIDE DOWN!! So instead of “M” for “University of Minnesota” it said “W”, oops:D).

The morning of graduation there was a great atmosphere of excitement around the campus, hundreds of students smiling and celebrating this really cool milestone. I loved the commencement speech by Pam Edstrom, I think it’s a great tradition to have someone successful share a piece of their wisdom and to inspire new graduates.

The graduation ceremony was at the hockey arena which I thought was interesting although apparently it’s pretty normal, there were so many people! I didn’t realize that every singe graduate will walk the stage and it would take at least 2 hours, but hey, I get it, it’s probably the most exciting part of it for the person graduating. Meanwhile, I had Alaric attached to me in a carrier, who by the way also dressed up for such occasion and got his own little bow tie. He was a champ behaving very well for the most part.

Read More Minneapolis. Day 3. Graduation, Meeting the President, Fondue.