ABSTRACT
American fast food was not completely unfamiliar to Tina; after all, there was a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Shanghai. Immigrants come to America searching for a better life and they bring with them many different dreams. A young family from the Dominican Republic, for example, may visit a McDonald's to celebrate a child's birthday rather than going to a public park for a cookout with their neighbors. American fast food restaurants, and the corporate capital they represent, are woven into the local dynamics of the American city. Tina works at a McDonald's restaurant in one of the largest immigrant communities in New York City—Manhattan's Chinatown. Paul Peterson worked as a chef in a Chinese restaurant owned and staffed by Chinese immigrants. Paul thought that in the so-called American environment Tina could learn English and gain mainstream skills; a guaranteed paycheck; safer working conditions; and important benefits, including health insurance.
