PhD thesis final - Royal Holloway, University of London

Chapter 6 –Grounding belonging in leisure spaceparticipation in various forms of social gatherings, clubs and community events. Inaddition to gatherings based on the physical spatial settings, I also examine myrespondents‘ participation in online interactions and activities based in virtual space andconsider how such practices may affect their identity practices and contribute to thealleviation of feelings of dislocation and homesickness. As public leisure space is oftenunderstood as a contact zone (Pratt 1992) in which differences are encountered andinteract, the discussion of Taiwanese people‘s embodied practices and negotiations ofidentities in this chapter is imperative in the understanding of their practices ofbelonging, in relation to their experiences of practising and performing the ‗difference‘(e.g. Walsh 2006b; Yeoh and Willis 2005b) and ‗sameness‘ in forging public and socialbelonging.6.2. Grounding belonging in leisure spaceAs an important structure of social support, the development and maintenance of anetwork of friendships is highly regarded by my respondents, especially those relocatedto China on their own. As a result hanging out with fellow Taiwanese expatriates andfriends is often mentioned to be a common leisure activity. This is shown in myconversations with two single male interviewees living in suburban Shanghai:Yuhui: What do you often do after work, or on the weekend?Yves: I go out for dinner with friends to kill time. It often takes one and half hours andafter that, we go to a massage parlour. This is what my weekday nights are like; it isjust repeated every week.Yuhui: Whom do you go out with?Yves: Some are my colleagues and some are from other companies.211