Academic Journey Ending

I started this blog after arriving in New Zealand to embark on an academic journey to complete a PhD, and this journey has now come to an end. I graduated and threw a party to celebrate with friends and acquaintances, and despite the terrible rainy weather, still managed to get a good turnout. I figured this would be the last time I would be celebrating something like this, so I went a bit overboard, but that's alright. I'm still polishing off the leftovers from the cakes...yum.

The PhD graduates lining up to go in at the graduation ceremony
- we got the fun poofy Renaissance-style hats

the huge food spread by the caterer

fanciest cake I've ever ordered (dark chocolate)

another fancy cake (chocolate peanut butter and vegan)

my homemade pumpkin cake, because I couldn't find a gluten-free vegan
cake to purchase in this city for friends with these requirements