A Boy Scout troop in Missouri, a horse racing competition in Tibet, a Sichuan restaurant in Queens, a candlelit protest in South Korea: Within the picture essays beneath, the runners-up in our “The place We Are” contest introduce you to 9 fascinating, vibrant communities, and present you the locations the place they collect with others.
As at all times, we invite you to depart feedback for these younger photojournalists to inform them what you thought. And should you haven’t already, please additionally benefit from the work of our winner, and discover a record of all of the finalists right here.
Notice: With their permission, we’ve condensed the work of the runners-up to 4 pictures and an edited model of their authentic introduction and captions.
Alley 41: A Hidden Sichuan Haven in Flushing
By Tony-JunLin Pan, 15, Jericho, N.Y.
The solar started to clip the horizon simply exterior forty first Avenue in Flushing, Queens, a neighborhood with a historical past of Chinese language family-owned eating places. Teams of hungry clients started trickling into Alley 41 by means of an not noticeable entrance tucked between personal residences.
Greater than a restaurant, Alley 41 — also called 蜀巷, or “Sichuan Alley” in Chinese language — was began by Yao Hua, and stands as a cultural sanctuary for Chinese language People craving the timeless consolation and flavors of dwelling.
Mr. Yao remembers his seek for belonging in New York when he first immigrated. “Sichuan flavors weren’t the identical. Eating places didn’t really feel the identical. I assumed I’d by no means discover that childhood reminiscence once more. I grew up in a small alley in Chengdu with numerous eating places, so I wished to search out an setting in America much like dwelling,” he mentioned.
Contained in the restaurant throughout rush hour, teams of individuals huddle across the conventional, family-style tables which might be usually used in Chinese language houses. The use of conventional teapots and utensils additionally serves to remind clients of recollections of dwelling. For individuals who grew up in China, it seems like an area paying homage to street-side eating in Chengdu.
For immigrants like Yao, when he’s not serving the Chinese language neighborhood, introducing Sichuan delicacies to these unfamiliar with it’s “like opening a door to a brand new world.”
Behind the chatter and the clinking of chopsticks in the eating space lies the nucleus of Alley 41 — the kitchen. Employees with kitchen nicknames like Uncle Jacky, Uncle Luo, Uncle Huang and Auntie Tao work tirelessly behind the scenes to craft unmistakably daring Sichuan flavors by means of dishes like Chengdu candy and spicy noodles. They navigate the jam-packed kitchen to retrieve and put together elements and condiments which might be the spine of a various menu.
For Auntie Tao, recreating Sichuan delicacies is “not solely assembly the way forward for the second, but in addition sharing your personal tradition and household recollections.”
Hearth flared up as Uncle Jacky stir-fried elements in a wok, attaining the smoky taste generally known as “wok hei,” by cooking at excessive temperatures above open stoves.
Such difficult expertise carried out by cooks require plenty of persistence and onerous work, however, based on Uncle Luo, “Once you deliver Chinese language meals to native individuals and different cultural backgrounds in the USA, this problem is extra significant.”
Alley 41 serves as a testomony to historic Flushing, a spot formed by the generational dedication of lower-class immigrants searching for new alternatives overseas. Regardless of modernization in the world, Alley 41 has remained a continuing in offering consolation meals at reasonably priced costs, incomes itself the Michelin Bib Gourmand certificates.
Mr. Yao and his staff are creating cultural bridges by means of meals, serving to individuals not solely to style Chinese language tradition, but in addition to search out shared happiness and emotional connection in the method.
The Magic of Life
By Martina Sirvent Suarez, 15, Barcelona, Spain
Youngsters like eight-year-old Ruben usually really feel a way of loneliness and sorrow whereas they’re on the oncology ward at Sant Joan de Déu Hospital in Barcelona. Their mates and households may see them as totally different, and really feel pity for them.
However these difficulties vanish once they placed on a prime hat. Magic methods present escapism and a way of normalcy. Changing into one of many Magician Children helps them see themselves as protagonists, not due to what they’re going by means of, however due to what they’re attaining.
The Magician Children are a neighborhood of youngsters that has shaped round Vidas Mágicas, a company {of professional} magicians who come onto the wards to carry out magic methods and train them to the sufferers. The group took its title, which interprets to “Magical Lives,” after a affected person remarked, “Magic offers me life.”
Each week, one or two magicians from Vidas Mágicas go to and do a efficiency. As soon as they’ve carried out, family and friends depart the room and the magicians train the youngsters the way to do every trick. Then their family members come again, and it’s the sufferers’ present!
As soon as a magic session has ended, the scholars obtain a diploma as apprentice magicians, which incorporates taking the creative title of their selection.
“With this diploma, they not solely acquire a particular title, but in addition a way of feat and belonging to a particular neighborhood,” mentioned Josep Coch, the founding father of the group. Each time attainable the magic exhibits are carried out in small teams. That method, the kids can study from each other, observe their methods, and enhance collectively.
Berta, 6, pictured above, is a large fan of “Frozen.” Her creative nickname is “Magician Elsa.”
“What I miss probably the most is my dwelling bed room,” she mentioned. Although she has just lately been moved to a spacious room with a big window by means of which she will watch squirrels play in the backyard, nothing is sort of like dwelling.
Victoria Bedmar, pictured right here, is Ruben’s grandmother. She had at all times sworn that she would by no means get a tattoo. However right here she is with “Vida,” which suggests “life,” on her shoulder. She received it in honor of Ruben and his bravery.
“Who’s my life?” she asks him.
He solutions: “I’m.”
Magician Valentino, 5, delights in performing the identical trick again and again, and continues to be amazed as the identical card seems with every try. Even supposing he has restricted imaginative and prescient, magic nonetheless offers him pleasure, shock and amazement.
Magic just isn’t solely enjoyable to study, but in addition a helpful alternative to socialize and make new mates. Via magic, these youngsters share one thing about themselves aside from their sicknesses, that are now not in the highlight.
Karate Extravaganza: Exploring an Okinawan Dojo Group
By Miu Nakano, 16, Yomitan, Japan
An island nicknamed the “Birthplace of Karate” sits on the Pacific Ocean only a two-and-a-half-hour airplane trip from the bustling coronary heart of Tokyo. In distinction to the busy metropolitan cities of mainland Japan, the prefecture of Okinawa is made up of over 150 islands with sandy seashores and luxurious forests. The largest and most populated of those islands, additionally referred to as Okinawa, is the place karate was born.
Karate Children Dojo, positioned on the island in Ginowan Metropolis, boasts a vibrant neighborhood that welcomes everybody. A melting pot of cultures, the dojo college students hail from all types of various backgrounds. They observe a selected karate type, Shorin-Ryu, which focuses on studying kicks and punches versus another kinds that use weapons.
Karate Children has an annual custom of beginning Hatsugeiko — the primary coaching of the 12 months — with a singular twist: They observe on the seashore.
Karate Children began its annual seashore Hatsugeiko in January of 2013 and has continued it ever since. The observe is alleged to purify the thoughts and the spirit.
It begins with operating laps across the seashore as a heat up, then doing the Kata efficiency. Kata is a sequence of actions that assist college students observe appropriate kind in karate. Regardless of variations in ages and expertise, college students all uniformly carry out their Kata in sync.
Although the climate was chilly and wintry, the dojo college students persevered by means of the coaching. Waves crashed onto the shore just some ft from the place they stood.
After the Kata efficiency ends, the scholars take part in an impediment race utilizing ropes supplied by the dojo. Children of all ages partake in the soar rope problem, the place they crawl and leap to keep away from a rope swung by dad and mom. The college students compete to achieve the purpose first, however only some handle to clear the rope.
Many come to the Hatsugeiko not simply to coach, however to mingle with one another and strengthen bonds inside the neighborhood.
Initially from India, Danusiyaa Saravanan began karate together with her complete household just some months in the past. After her first time taking part in Hatsugeiko, she mentioned, “It was a splendid expertise and I received to hang around with my household.”
Her youthful brother, who doesn’t know a phrase of Japanese and had a tough time making mates in their neighborhood, has rapidly adjusted and has made connections together with his fellow college students in the dojo.
As Akemi Sensei, the instructor, defined, “Our dojo strives to lift youngsters to develop into people who will ‘conquer themselves, not others.’”
Horse-Racing Tibetans at Gannan, Blessed by Nature
By Buyu Lyu, 17, Somerset, N.J.
Settled on the prairie between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Loess Plateau, Gannan, Tibet, is remoted from the skin, however the individuals there kind distinctive bonds by means of communal prayers and collective participation in actions.
Horse racing is a kind of actions. It’s not solely leisure but in addition part of the neighborhood’s faith, since Tibetan Buddhism values nature and animals. Invited by a neighborhood resident, La-Zhang, to the horse race competition, I had an opportunity to take a close-up view.
As we arrived on the venue, my mobile connection was reduce off. The altitude hinders cellphone indicators, but on the similar time protects the neighborhood from the colonization of social media. The normalized isolation in this place felt unsettling as I used to be separated from the cellphone I used to be so accustomed to. However for the general public right here, leisure isn’t TikTok however using horses.
“Youngsters don’t develop up with telephones,” mentioned La-Zhang. “They play with nature, horses and such issues. You don’t see this in central China.”
La-Zhang, initially from Beijing, mentioned he has embraced this sacred land, discovering solace and shelter.
“I escaped to this place to depart my previous worries behind. I received’t return to Beijing; the identical goes for my son. I need my son to develop up enjoying together with his horse, not finding out all day lengthy like youngsters in Beijing,” he mentioned.
It’s a lifelong honor for a Tibetan to win a horse race. If he wins, his fame will unfold and convey honor to his household and village. Therefore, each little one practices with their horse from a really younger age.
On this picture, La-Zhang is bringing his boy to the horse race. Although the 2 engaged in prep-talk, the boy gave the impression to be born prepared.
Sure, each household in Tibet has a horse. Tibetans bond with horses, feeding and caring for them from an early age. Youngsters develop up with their horses. The horses are nicely cared for and even have custom-made, stunning garments that preserve them heat and classy.
“You guys have cats and canine; we’ve our horses,” La-Zhang mentioned. “Horses are sensible, — smarter than you suppose.”
Earlier than the race, a ritual takes place to ask for Buddha’s witness. Throughout the ceremony, Tibetans toss paper talismans in the air and produce smoke with a campfire. That is once they pray. Every individual has their very own needs. Some pray for well being, whereas some thank Buddha for a profitable 12 months, and pray for the upcoming one.
A sacred sense of unity reigns when the Tibetans pray. It’s a highly effective, silent second.
Within the Chair
By Serene Hameed, 17, Shaker Heights, Ohio
From a really younger age, sitting in the salon or barbershop chair turns into greater than only a routine. For Black individuals, it’s a common cultural expertise that has formed identities and instilled in many a profound sense of self-love.
“Within the Chair” is a tribute to the sacred areas of Black hair salons and barbershops, the place the great thing about Blackness is widely known and the essence of neighborhood is felt. These areas have at all times been a house for me, a spot the place I might present up as my genuine self and be embraced. Whereas sitting in the chair, I’ve realized numerous classes.
I received the chance to doc one such neighborhood that seems like a house — the Home of Stunning Locs Pure Hair Salon and Fade Away Barber Store in Bedford Heights, Ohio.
On this picture, shoppers and hairstylists at Stunning Locs watch and touch upon the Lifetime present “Convey It: The Dancing Dolls.”
After a joke was made, everybody laughed, and Tarsha Ivy, the salon proprietor, defined, “Child, we’re all household right here.”
Alice Asimenu, an African braider, expressed her love for doing hair, and for making connections with individuals and listening to their tales. Listening to these tales opens a lot house for connection and progress, she mentioned.
“There may be significance in self-care, and as a Black younger girl, this represents self-respect,” mentioned Heather Taylor, a hairdresser at one other native spot, Salon Lofts Beachwood in Beachwood, Ohio.
These photos doc the wonder, satisfaction, and resilience rooted in Black hair tradition.
It’s not simply in regards to the hairstyles; it’s in regards to the tales, the enjoyment and the empowerment discovered in these areas, that are necessary cultural hubs.
We want to guard and have a good time the distinctive heritage they symbolize.
The Candlelight Vigil With out Candles
By Harim Oh, 15, Anseong, South Korea
South Korean nightlife is extra alive than ever, however as an alternative of clubbing at Itaewon or consuming steaming sizzling tteokbokki in the winding alleys of Myeongdong, every Saturday night time for South Koreans is crammed with billowing flags and the decision for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, sung alongside to the beat of Okay-pop songs which might be blasted from a number of stereos directly.
First held in 2008, candlelight vigils have turn into the epitome of what democracy represents inside South Korea. As one of the crucial efficient methods of peaceable protesting, these vigils have turn into the go-to resolution for countering a tyrannical authorities.
On the vigil I just lately attended, there was a sea of thick black puffer jackets as everybody from school college students to grandparents fought in opposition to the chilly. Waving flags of defiance, they protested President Yoon’s regime and his try at martial regulation.
However this candlelight vigil was not like some other: There have been nearly no candles.
As a substitute of the quiet, conventional, heat orange-red candlelight, the streets have been brilliant with neon pink and blue. Beats of Okay-pop shook the streets and blended with 1000’s of voices chanting for impeachment. To the protesters, this isn’t simply advocating for change, it’s exhibiting how united they’re.
Nothing can cease a neighborhood that’s having fun with itself.
Fashionable issues name for contemporary options. The majority of the group held out lights and cheering sticks, meant for live performance stadiums.
“We fandoms have made a brief alliance,” one protester laughed. Folks joined palms, singing alongside to basic Okay-pop songs, the lyrics altered to name for impeachment.
Distributors lined the streets, promoting candles with LED lights. Candles bought out sooner than piping sizzling hotteok, as increasingly more palms reached out to participate.
Shivering in opposition to the freezing wind, crowds of various ages fought in opposition to the police. College students need to guarantee a greater life for themselves, dad and mom want their youngsters a greater world, and grandparents concern that humanity will repeat the previous errors of Korea’s bloody historical past.
Posters of President Yoon lined the partitions of metropolis corridor. The equivalent posters not solely listed the crimes of his tyranny, however his face was rigorously ripped out in each one.
“It may appear petty,” one protester commented, “nevertheless it’s only a testomony to how what he did is unforgivable.”
South Korea is among the international locations in the world the place army service is obligatory for younger males. Via these months away from mates, household and residential, troopers study the real-life struggles of our ancestors, who fought so onerous and so bravely for the nation we stay in as we speak. These classes are a continuing reminder that South Korea’s freedom and democracy have come at a value.
Folks on the protest received misplaced in the music, with 1000’s taking part in an impromptu karaoke session in the center of the road, the -10°C climate was forgotten. Anybody and everybody was welcome to hitch.
“Who knew coming to a protest might be so exhilarating!” one remarked.
“I really feel like Batman,” mentioned one other. “Work through the day, shield your nation at night time.”
Wrestling With Their Our bodies and Minds: Contained in the Fayetteville-Manlius Women Crew
By Maria Elis Lorga Novack, 18, and Marcus Albuquerque, 18, Manlius, N.Y.
Communities take work and persistence, and generally adjusting to vary is the one method to make them work in any respect.
The Women Wrestling Crew at Fayetteville-Manlius Excessive Faculty, in the suburbs of Syracuse, N.Y., is a real inspiration. Younger girls right here have fought for years to have the identical alternatives as their male classmates.
Lacey Teaken and Ariana Suraci, two women initially on the boys’ staff, led a three-year battle to create the Fayetteville-Manlius (F-M) staff. Initially informed there weren’t sufficient women in wrestling, the 2 found that one other native faculty, East Syracuse Minoa, was going through the identical downside. The resolution? Combining the groups.
Now women like Madison Gallagher, in the headlock above, and Ava Chicken, behind her, are a part of a staff of robust, sensible and courageous younger girls who’re blazing a path for future generations.
The principal subject in women’ wrestling is the burden courses, and the way unfair they’re, particularly as you get to the heavier aspect.
There are 14 weight courses for women and 13 for boys in New York state, and the lighter weight courses for women are all 5 kilos aside — 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, and 145. However athletes who’re over 190 kilos need to wrestle in the 235 pound class, no matter their particular weight, so that they face the selection of doubtless wrestling somebody who’s 45 kilos heavier, or not wrestling in any respect.
Ladies in common battle mightily with physique picture, at all times attempting to achieve unattainable requirements set by society. How can these women ever be capable of attain their full potential if their psychological well being is affected by attempting to realize on the factor they love probably the most? The women wresting in this picture, Laurel Varga, proper, and Norah Kelly, left, say it’s onerous to remain grounded and keep away from unhealthy diets whereas they need to continually fear about their weight.
When wrestling, staff member Elizabeth Banashkevich reminds the others, it’s necessary to take heed to your physique in addition to your head and perceive that you might have reached your restrict. Admitting defeat is difficult for anyone, however generally understanding and respecting your personal limits is even tougher.
It’s unattainable to undergo the stress alone, and regardless that wrestling is taken into account a person sport, the ladies can solely develop collectively as a staff. Even in twin meets, when one woman loses, the entire staff feels the loss.
Realizing that the F-M Women Wrestling staff is mentally ready to belief themselves and one another, and to take heed to their our bodies in addition to their minds, makes these women an inspiration of perseverance and dedication.
In This Dance Group, Children Are No Longer ‘Left Behind’
By Ruihan Li, 17, Guangzhou, China
Deep in rural China, in the distant area of Yulin, Guangxi, peeling posters and light graffiti inform the story of a tucked-away faculty, all however invisible to the skin world. “It’s information that adjustments our destiny, and diligence creates miracles,” say the now barely legible slogans on the wall, struggling to inform an optimistic story.
This modest establishment accommodates round 120 college students throughout six grades, every with roughly 20 pupils.
Many of those are so-called left-behind youngsters, with dad and mom working removed from dwelling for lengthy intervals. The dad and mom entrust their youngsters’s upbringing to their grandparents, a actuality that has left generations formed by distance and household separation.
Solely the lucky few may have the possibility to check in the only highschool in the county, positioned an hour away. This leaves most with restricted choices: Enter the work power straight, usually as early as 12 years of age, or help their grandparents with agricultural chores.
Amid the ocean of pupils right here, some women, from grades 4 and 5, throw themselves into a brand new dance class taught by worldwide college students from Guangzhou.
“I’ve by no means had dance courses earlier than. Now I can’t anticipate each. It seems like one thing out of a film,” one mentioned.
The women rush into their first-floor classroom, at all times arriving early to push apart the cumbersome oak desks and chairs and create house for his or her actions. The extra assured amongst them stand prepared on the entrance.
“I used to work in one other village, removed from right here, however I got here again as a result of I wished to handle my little one,” Mrs. Xu, their teacher, mentioned, pointing to her two-year-old son.
“My coronary heart breaks for them. I can see the youngsters changing into extra closed off the older they get, however at any time when they dance, a pleasure, a uncooked power, comes by means of.”
Regardless of the palpable enthusiasm in the room, some college students exhibit a notable timidity, hiding behind friends when referred to as on to indicate off their solo expertise. On this method, these women turn into literal shields for his or her shyer classmates. A love of dance and novelty doesn’t make one a diva by default.
However the dance class has completed extra than simply give college students newfound confidence. It additionally has given rise to tight-knit bonds.
“Dance class gives one thing totally different from what we normally study at college,” mentioned Zhao Dong, 11. “Actually, these are my happiest recollections to this point.”
College students converse of the category as a sanctuary for them. Their boundless power and curiosity are a promise of a future the place no children are neglected or left behind.
Exterior, amid autumn leaves that scatter like golden confetti, they observe what they’ve realized, their goals for a second stretching greater than the treetops.
A Place for Tomorrow’s Leaders to Develop
By Max Chung, 15, Ballwin, Mo.
For the reason that founding of the Boy Scouts of America in 1911, round 130 million youths have participated in this system. Of those, solely 2.5 million have reached the B.S.A.’s highest rank, Eagle Scout.
B.S.A. Troop 631, based mostly at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Ballwin, Mo., is among the largest troops in the New Horizons district, a subdivision of the Larger St. Louis Space Council. Since 1966, Troop 631 has fostered nearly 300 nationally acknowledged Eagle Scouts.
The path to Eagle is to not be underestimated. On common, it takes a scout between 4 and 6 years to finish.
Although the health club of St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church has been the assembly place of this troop since its creation, the trail to Eagle doesn’t happen in one room or one constructing. It occurs in all places. Troop 631 goes on outings every month; some are 20 minutes away, some are a whole bunch or 1000’s of miles farther. On this picture, for instance, scouts are establishing their sleeping luggage in a cabin on the Beaumont Scout Reservation in Excessive Ridge Missouri.
With this fixed motion, the affect of the Boy Scouts resonates all through the St. Louis space and past.
Initially of every weekly assembly, held at 7 p.m. sharp, scouts like these pictured above line up for a flag ceremony. They rotate by patrols, that are teams who’re assigned to behave as a staff, cooking, working and tenting collectively.
“Boy Scouts is a brotherhood. It’s type of one thing while you meet individuals from all internationally, irrespective of the place you’re from, and also you all have that very same brotherhood bond that you just’re in Boy Scouts,” mentioned Dex Dean, a senior patrol chief and Eagle Scout.
After the weekly assembly, scouts clear up the health club. All through, you received’t see a frown: A core worth of scouting is “cheerful service.”
“We do loads of service tasks right here at St. Mark’s,” mentioned Joseph Zaegel, who has reached the extent of Life Scout, which comes simply earlier than Eagle. “We simply make the place feel and look higher,” he mentioned.
Affectionately referred to as “the cage,” this again nook of the St. Mark’s storage room homes all of the troop’s gear. The gear in this room is used for cooking, cleansing and sleeping year-round. Troop 631 is an all-weather troop, and nonetheless camps in the chilly, the warmth, the rain — even the occasional hurricane.
“Within the wilderness, freedom is sensible inside the troop, and it’s simply loads of enjoyable to chill out,” Joseph mentioned.
One of many core classes taught on this journey is management, and a part of management is educating others. The Scout Legislation and Oath all comprise values that assist practice even youthful scouts like Nate Bueg, pictured right here, to turn into glorious lecturers and leaders. Older scouts, usually with years of expertise, go down their information to newer scouts.
As Joseph defined it, “The Boy Scout neighborhood is a robust, constructive neighborhood that strives to construct individuals up and enhance management expertise in younger people.”
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