Aside from the venues for the chess tournaments, and aside from the private apartment where the Jongs live, their neighborhood is the central setting for this story and its welcoming, vibrant sense of cultural belonging is crucial for Waverly, her brothers, and her mother.
This neighborhood is full of apartments and stores, some indoors and some in an outdoor marketplace, in San Francisco's China Town, where familiar Chinese foods are readily available for Waverly's family,...
Aside from the venues for the chess tournaments, and aside from the private apartment where the Jongs live, their neighborhood is the central setting for this story and its welcoming, vibrant sense of cultural belonging is crucial for Waverly, her brothers, and her mother.
This neighborhood is full of apartments and stores, some indoors and some in an outdoor marketplace, in San Francisco's China Town, where familiar Chinese foods are readily available for Waverly's family, both for purchase and in restaurants. Curio shops and medicinal herb shops are safe places for Waverly to wander. A Chinese bakery sits just below Waverly's apartment and it fills her living space with delicious and familiar smells. Swings, slides, and even back alleys constitute a playground for Waverly and the other neighborhood Chinese children. Old Chinese women feed pigeons; in fact, social life that takes place out of doors is one constant in this neighborhood. Chinese men play chess in the park and welcome Waverly to their games; Lau Po, a player there, calls her "Little Sister" before getting to know her. This kind of welcoming friendliness of a cultural community envelops Waverly and her mother. Mrs. Jong (Waverly's mom) is so comfortable in this environment that she speaks to anyone who even looks at her, introducing her daughter to them proudly.
More details about the sights, sounds, and smells of Waverly's neighborhood can be found near the beginning of the story, from about the fourth through the seventh paragraphs.
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