a document of days

Ever since reading about it, it's been hard to wrap my head around the idea of adults living in factory dormitories. The only exposure I've had to this arrangement is the housing provided to the migrant workers who came to my hometown each summer to harvest tobacco. I was fascinated by these buildings when I was growing up. They were mysterious to me.

Our driver lived in the factory dormitories, as did all of the young workers who threatened to trample us as they streamed down the stairs after completing their shifts. The conditions were not good and I can't imagine what they thought of their position. Were they proud to be employed, sending money back to their families in rural parts of China? Were they lonely, so far away from home? Were they satisfied by the camaraderie they shared with the many other young people in the same position?

Of a dorm located in the same province I was working in, Peter Hessler writes: