The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs

This was a typical scene in Hong Kong where domestic workers would use their one day off per week to hang out with friends, meet up with family, partake in organizations, attend church, etc.  Because of Hong Kong's lack of space, these workers take to the streets, sitting in any public space they can transform into a social space.  This picture shows women making their new home for the day on a stairwell, protecting themselves from the rain with their umbrellas tucked into the railings.  These women would eat, drink, listen to music, write emails or chat with their families in different countries via internet or cell phones - anything one would normally do in the privacy of their own home.  On Sundays, this was their home, their area.  Filipino workers called these locations their tambayan.