An Adventure in the Land of American Dreams

Flashing billboards, hundreds of people gathered around 3 streets, tens of yellow cabs driving by, New York, a city where one can really believe to achieve the American Dream.

The last weekend of my March break was spent in the city that never sleeps. Our tour guide Dunkin (Donut!) welcomed us into the city with "New York, New York" by Frank Sinatra. A huge city with 5 districts and 8 million people cannot compare to Montreal. Montreal is a kaleidoscope because of its multiethnic city? Wait until you go to New York; it's a rainbow of all kinds of ethnic backgrounds. Here's an idea:

Montreal's:                                                            New York's:
Chinatown: 1 and a half streets                              Chinatown: 10 blocks
Little Italy: 3 streets at most                                   Little Italy: 5 blocks
Downtown: St-Catherine Street                             Downtown: Three times as big

True, the proportion of people should equal the space they occupy. Therefore,

Montreal's:                                                            New York's:
Ghetto area: 3 or 4 communities                            Ghetto area: HUGE

It is a sad reality but the more people there are in a city, the harder it is to find jobs for everyone. Many immigrants stand in the cold in their stands, competing against each other and against the bigger markets, trying to sell their products. Not exactly the most relaxing job. 8am until 3 pm shifts? More like 8am until 10pm days. No more than 40 hours a week? Dream on. These people are there 7 days a week, 98 hours or more per week. They try their best, make the most money they can (sometimes that involves ripping people off or illegal activities). It is how they survive. Money doesn't fall from the sky nor does it grow in trees like in the American Dream.

A dream is just a dream.

On a side note, if money is not a problem, there are many things to buy in New York. Since there is so much competition between stores, the products on sale are at the cheapest price possible. Tommy Hildfiger shirt, 5$, jewelry, handbags, half the price they would be here. Food too is cheaper than in Montreal. McNuggets at McDonalds is only 4.99$ for 20 of them. Here, it costs 6.89$ for only 10 of them. Frozen nuggets on sale are at 3,99$ a box of 20. For a dollar more, they're cooked and prepared for you and there is sauce that comes with it. Not only McNuggets are cheap but fresh strawberries are a dollar a box in Chinatown.It's GREAT!