I have only been home once since I’ve gotten to Richmond and it was an interesting experience for me. Home, for me, was always Wellington, Florida. The Sunshine State, where some of my family and most of my friends are. This changed when I came to Richmond in August. I started to call my dorm my “home,” and one of my best friends, my “home.” Going home always meant my family, my bed, and that home smell as soon as you enter the white door. Home is feeling safe in a place I was born and raised in, the only home I have ever known. This class has taught me that home isn’t necessarily a physical structure, rather that it can be a person, a group, or an object. The concept of the homeplace can also be related to political resistance as some people choose to leave their homes in protest or because they did not feel accepted. When people’s identities are challenged or frowned upon in the homeplace, they must find another place to call home because we all crave comfort and safety whether it be in a place or in another persons presence.
Going home from being a full time college student and talking to my parents and family members, I found myself being an observer more often than actively participating in conversation. I enjoyed watching my family, actively listening to what they had to say, and then inserting myself when I felt it was necessary. This ties back to the concept we discussed in class that we have gained knowledge while on campus that has opened up our worldview compared to our homeplace where things tend to remain the same.
In the episode we watched of “This is Us,” the home was usually run by the women. This is true for my home as my mother does everything she can, like cleaning, cooking, and being the handyman. This was interesting for me because I realized the cultural differences between my mother in Florida and my grandmother in El Salvador. Comparing this third world country to the USA made me realize the cultural variations even in the homeplace. My grandparents have a maid who cooks and cleans, a driver and landscaper, whom wee all adore. Their version of home includes these workers and now family members as they spend every day of the week and most weekends helping my grandparents. Additionally, my grandpa seems to run the house, rather than my grandma. Although she does boss people around in the kitchen, my grandpa has the utmost authority compared to my house where it is the opposite.