Atlanta: cats, catfish, and commencement

On to country #2: USA! Our first stop Atlanta is also the first one we planned, being the city that I (Alex) have been studying at online since 2020. Now that I've finished my degree, I thought I'd quite like to attend my graduation commencement ceremony in person, and see the campus & city that I've been a virtual part of for 3 1/2 years.

Our good friend Erin, who grew up close by, invited us to stay with her sister Alice and her partner Jason. They live in a lovely house (which is apparently not big by American standards but felt huge to us) surrounded by trees - this is going to be a theme of our stay in the US!

They also have 2 v cute cats, Kashel (who is a "tripod" with only 3 legs) and Stubby (who doesn't have a tail). Both were shy at the start, but Kashel warmed up to us, even letting Reka pick him up (see pic!). A genuine highlight.

Atlanta is home to the largest aquarium in the US, which we enjoyed a lot, not just for the sea life but also for the hordes of excited schoolchildren ("it's Dory!" "But where's Nemo?" And later: "ITS NEMO!!").

On day 4, I finally graduated in person! The ceremony, held in a huge sports arena, was quite different to my undergrad ceremony in the UK. After standing for the national anthem, we sat through a pretty gross speech by the CEO of Delta Airlines, during which I was mostly trying to figure out how to wear my regalia (verdict: partial success).

In case you ever find yourself in Atlanta, my top tip is the Center for Puppetry Arts in northern midtown. We attended the "Experimental Puppetry Theatre", comprised of several live or filmed Puppetry shorts fully funded by the center - really cool!

-AlexRead more