Graduation was being held at a Palasis in Vienna. I planned on just meeting my parents there since we had to be there much earlier than the guests (for pictures, to get our caps/gowns, etc) so a few of us were just going to take a cab so we wouldn’t have to deal with public transportation. We went to the taxi stand outside our UBahn station, and for the first time since I had been in Vienna, there were no taxis at the taxi stand, possibly because it was a Sunday morning. We quickly resorted to Plan B and luckily Megan had looked up how to get where we were going via public transportation.
We ended up in the Museum Quarter, and realize no one really knew how to get there once we got above ground from the UBahn. We all knew what street we were supposed to be on, but it’s never that simple because there are numerous exits from the UBahn and they each spit you out at a different location. We also didn’t know which way to go on the street once we found it. Eventually someone figured out where we were going and the 7 of us got to the Palasis about forty-five minutes late. We quickly changed into our caps and gowns, had a quick bite to eat from the catering table, then did all the standard pre-graduation photos with the photography team. Even though we were so late, we stood around for about an hour so I’m actually quite glad that we were so late.
The guests started to arrive and the un-air conditioned room got even hotter than it had been. Thank God I had my fancy foldable fan that I had purchased in Thailand. It kept me cool(er) the entire ceremony. After all guests were seated, we had a procession with the globals and other important faculty in their official caps and gowns. The globals had two reserved rows in the front of the room, and as we marched in and filled up the rows, we realized they had set one seat too little so the last person in didn’t get a seat. The whole thing was so formal and proper that it was kind of funny to see the director of our program scrambling to find Cas an extra chair. The ceremony had a number of elements and lasted over two hours, which I was funny because my mom says Nerinx can graduate 160+ girls in about 1.5 hours. I guess Webster wanted to make this ceremony more special, so having about five speakers and two musical performances from alumni was their way to do that. We also went up on stage one by one to get our diplomas, and there was a slippery spot on the floor over which we all had to pass to get up on stage. I almost wiped out but caught myself, but when Little Molly walked over it she really almost lost it. That slippery spot made the day a little more interesting.
After the conclusion of the ceremony, there was a little reception with hors d’oeuvres and champagne. I took off my cap and gown as soon as possible because it was so hot, but luckily I don’t really sweat. Some of the guys’ shirts were drenched under their caps and gowns. I visited with my Austrian entourage and the globals and their families, and by 1:00pm I was officially finished with grad school!
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