| Hello from New York City (5) - A Local Expert | | | | to same savory Chinese dumplings. All the |
| Takes Us Through Queensby: Susanne Pacher | | | | time she explained to us the multicultural |
| | | | character of Queens, and that one of the main |
| Yesterday was a pretty interesting day, the | | | | subway trains (the 7 train) is called "The |
| weather was cool and overcast, with rain | | | | International Express" because it cuts |
| coming in during the latter part of the | | | | through all sorts of ethnic neighbourhoods. |
| afternoon. A few weeks ago I had booked a | | | | |
| meeting with one of the Big Apple Greeters, | | | | A quick jump onto this very subway later, |
| an organization of local NYC volunteers that | | | | which runs on elevated tracks through a good |
| takes out-of-town visitors around the city | | | | chunk of Queens, so you can actually see the |
| and shows them local sights and shares local | | | | neighbourhood, and we arrived in Jackson |
| information. The service is a great way to | | | | Heights, an area with a lot of Latin American |
| link up with a local New Yorker, and best of | | | | immigrants and further west we saw lots of |
| all, it's free of charge. | | | | South Asian (Indian, Pakistani and |
| | | | Bangladeshi) stores. For a Torontonian seeing |
| We were supposed to meet Suzanne, our | | | | all these ethnic stores is not all that |
| greeter, at 11:00 am at the 71st Street | | | | unusual, since we have a lot of that in |
| subway station, but we got a late start after | | | | Toronto too, but I am sure these ethnic |
| breakfast and there were some delays on the | | | | neighbourhoods must be quite unusual and |
| subway system, so we didn't meet Suzanne | | | | unique for people who come from smaller less |
| until 11:50 am. Suzanne is a former | | | | international places. |
| highschool teacher, in her sixties, and a | | | | |
| very friendly and outgoing individual. We | | | | We then took the 47 and 19 Queens bus to a |
| felt bad about being late, but she said it | | | | neighbourhood called Astoria, where a lot of |
| wasn't a problem at all. She was extremely | | | | Greek immigrants congregate. We ended up |
| gracious and helpful throughout our entire | | | | having dinner in a little quaint and cosy |
| time with her. | | | | Greek restaurant called Zygos Restaurant |
| | | | ("zygos" means "libra" or "balance") where we |
| Suzanne started the tour by taking us through | | | | continued our nice conversation with Suzanne, |
| a very upscale Queens neighbourhood called | | | | our local expert. Suzanne has been a greeter |
| Forest Hill Gardens, which is a neighbourhood | | | | for the last 12 years and has studied all |
| with private streets where local residents | | | | areas of New York City. She said she travels, |
| pay higher than normal taxes for additional | | | | by herself, into all areas of NYC, including |
| services, such as more frequent garbage | | | | Harlem and the Bronx, and she loves exploring |
| pickup etc. Suzanne indicated that these | | | | and sharing the city that she loves with |
| homes go from anywhere from US$ 1 million and | | | | people from all over the world. |
| up. Everything was blooming and many local | | | | |
| handymen, gardners and maids were on the | | | | When we left at about a quarter to 7 pm, |
| road. We also had a chance to visit the old | | | | Suzanne had spent more than 7 hours with us |
| US Open Tennis Center which is located in an | | | | and we had really gotten to know each other |
| amphitheatre right next to the Forest Hill | | | | quite well on a personal level. We also we |
| Country Club. | | | | ended up exchanging email addresses and we |
| | | | extended mutual invitations to stay in touch |
| On from there we took a bus to the Flushing | | | | and I said I'd love to take her around |
| neighbourhood, an area with lots of Chinese | | | | whenever she comes to the Toronto area. |
| and Korean stores, where Suzanne treated us | | | | |