Americans, hear my plea: not everything you say is comprehensible to the rest of the world. While you’re two speeches and a works cited essay into the pros and cons of, say, ‘prom’, ‘tailgating’, and ‘paying ridiculous amounts of money for healthcare’, most of us are trying to decipher the equations that have appeared out of thin air.

As someone who has been to American international schools since she was ten, and has a faux American accent someone once described as ‘American, until you try to figure out where in America it could be from’, I’ve experienced more of American culture than most people get out of watching Mean Girls and The Breakfast Club. Still, I was almost 18 the first time I actually set foot in the U.S.

Despite all this, homecoming still makes only the barest amount of sense to me.

The homecoming parade was an – experience. I don’t know what this guy was trying to achieve, but whatever it was, he had it. As my friend beside me commented: ‘We’re all still in 2017 while he’s clearly in 2049’
More surrealism, brought to you by the UM Homecoming Parade. The tiny cars looked like so much fun to drive.

I mean, I know what it is; a celebration that’s held when the American football team of the high school or university returns, hopefully victorious, from away games back to their home stadium. It’s also when alumni of the school can return to relive the glory days. If you’re UM alumni, you even get to gorge yourself on a buffet-style dinner than for some reason isn’t offered to the students, who, you know, actually still pay to go here? #notbitter

At this point, who even knows what we’re cheering for this time, and really, who even cares! The important thing is to be super excited at all times, always.
The cordoned off area for Miami alumni to feast on delicious food while us poor students stand gloomily on the other side.

In all seriousness, it’s quite inspiring; having such obvious pride and love for your alma mater is pretty endearing, if surreal. I guess it’s because in the U.S., college is meant to be a whole experience – a home away from home.

At UM, homecoming was an whole weekend event. Thursday was the homecoming concert – free admission to watch Cash Cash and A$AP Ferg, music artists that I definitely, 100%, knew in advance, and did not Google. Definitely.

The Watsco Center: the perfect venue for hosting pep rallies, basketball games, and wild homecoming concerts.

Friday was the homecoming parade, general festivities, and fireworks display. I’m not sure why every dance/party/celebration Americans have somehow involve electing some kind of ‘court’ – which typically includes a king, queen, prince and princess – but they seem really into having an elected monarchy. Deafening marching bands and scores of cheerleaders seem to be par for the course too.

Presenting the 2017 Homecoming King and Queen! They did a lot of charity work, and are both a member of a fraternity or sorority. Other than that, I have no idea about the basis of being part of Homecoming Court.
The UM marching band is known as the Band of the Hour, and performs at every game and accompanying celebration.

After the parade, I walked beyond the really expensive food trucks and found a inflatable obstacle course, plus the biggest slide I’d ever seen out of an amusement park. Given that there were also some face-painting stands, it was probably the area for alumni who had become parents to entertain their kids with, which of course meant that I joined in too.

Gigantic slides! A staple for all university homecoming celebrations, obviously.

Finally, the fireworks display accompanied by lots of cheering and blasting from the UM marching band culminated over the lake, the main feature of the UM main campus. The fireworks display lasted forever; honestly, I’d even say it was better than the Disneyland fireworks display I talked about a couple of blogs ago.

Unfortunately, I missed the actual game on Saturday; homecoming weekend came at a pretty bad time for me, as I had three tests and two assignments the week after. But, a few weeks after that, I had a sort of homecoming reunion of my own – Rob, a friend from halls in my first year of university at Southampton, came down to Miami from Temple University, in Philadelphia! Coincidentally, he was on a year abroad in the U.S. too and decided to use Thanksgiving break as an opportunity to travel somewhere warmer – to a tropical resort, as he called the UM campus. As you’ve probably read on his blog, Miami’s winter is more of a mild summer, and my campus doesn’t look like it was built for studying.

I took Rob around campus, where we stopped to appreciate every fountain like the tourists we really are.
I got to watch a free pre-release screening of Justice League at my university, but when Rob said he was coming to Miami we just had to go and watch it together as fellow comic book nerds.

Thanksgiving break also meant I got to fly back to my family in Houston – I usually don’t go back that often when I’m in the UK, since flights are more expensive, and are ten hours long. Plus, I got to celebrate my 20th birthday at home, with real Asian food.

I like cake as much as the next person, but it’s a family tradition of ours to have steamboat on my birthday because a) its my favourite and b) my birthdays in November, and you usually eat steamboat when its wintertime (or during Chinese New Year).

I guess the answer to the question ‘what does homecoming mean to me’ is that for all that the over-the-top festivities associated with something like an American football game playing in a home stadium, there’s something I have to admire about getting hyped over coming ‘home’ to university. I guess the feeling’s the same, no matter if your homecoming is meeting up with a friend you haven’t hung out with in a while, or spending time with your family, or visiting your alma mater.

What does ‘Homecoming’ mean to you?

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