February 22, 2021. The day my Graduate degree graduation was supposed to happen with a graduation ceremony and family by my side. Sadly, after more than a year, the COVID-19 situation hasn't improved that much. Similar to the previous batch of graduates, we did not have an official graduation ceremony in the school where friends and family are invited to attend. South Korea still has the mandatory self-quarantine of 2 weeks for everyone who enters the country. The same goes for Malaysia too, once they return. So, there is no reason to spend a month only come all the way here and then back for a day. Hence, unfortunately, no family and friends. But I have a bunch of classmates who are still in Korea and plan to stay in Korea for some time, instead of leaving as soon as we graduate. At least I got to spend some quality time before everybody gets busy.
On the bright side, the school planned a graduation dinner at Westin Chosun Hotel for us. Yay! Another hotel course dinner in Seoul. The diploma will also be given to us during dinner. Besides that, we were told that we could rent the graduation gown for a week to take photos. Although it was a shame that my family and friends couldn't be there to take pictures with me, I thought that I should at least take some nice photos by myself. After all, it is my graduation, right?
On the day of the graduation dinner, I slept in late and was having my own sweet time laying on the bed. My best friend in Malaysia called me all of a sudden and ask if I was home. She said she sent something to me and it's on its way to my house. I thought she sends me food/snacks from Malaysia. To my surprise, my best friends sent me a bouquet to congratulate on my graduation! It was sooo out of my expectation and it really caught me in surprise. The flowers were sooo beautiful too. Thank you KY and Angela <3
It was such precious time spent with my classmates and professors one last time. There were many faces that I have not seen in weeks and months. Before entering the dining hall, we registered ourselves in front of the main door, had our temperatures checked. I also got a gift and certificate from NIIED to congratulate me on my graduation. As soon as I enter the dining hall, there was a professional photographer taking individual photos for all the graduates. I took advantage of it and got a really nice shot from it. I also took photos with my friends who started to arrive one by one.
The dinner started with a course of appetisers, main, and dessert. I was having really high hopes but the food did not reach my expectations. The only nice food was probably the appetisers and wine. We all had our masks on all the time, except when we are eating and when we receive our diploma on stage for photos. There were also transparent shields (?) between all of the attendees on the tables.
After eating, the giveaway ceremony of our diploma started. It was such a happy moment as soon as I receive the diploma that I have dreamt of since the day I made Yonsei University my final choice to attend. I took a good stare at the diploma. I was also awarded Certificate of Academic Excellence from the school. It was really a surprise! It came with a cute 독수리인형 (Eagle stuffed toy) too. FYI, the eagle is the symbol of Yonsei University. In the end, we watched a few videos full of pictures taken from Day 1 of school up until now. It really reminded us of all the memories and good times we had together. I am glad that we had some fun time in school before COVID-19 happens. It was also really nice to see pictures of friends who have left Korea for their countries.
The dinner ended fairly early. We could not gather after 10pm according to the COVID-19 거리두기 rules. My friends and I left the hall and went down to the lobby for some spontaneous group photos. There were people who have gotten their graduation gown and caps in the afternoon that day, so we took photos for them and then rotated the gowns around for some candid photo shoot. We then all headed to the subway station together and then parted ways in the subway.
I went back home that day with a bunch of gifts and certificates in my paper bag! It was a really nice time spent. I'm glad to see everybody doing well.
Cheers!
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