Of all the crazy Spanish festivals, none is wilder than the Carnival celebrations in late February. Carnival is thought to come from the Roman festival, the Saturnalia, where participants had much drinking and dancing. Carnival in Spain is celebrated nationwide though the craziest festivities are in the Tenerife and Cadiz. While each town has its own unique way of celebration, they are both devoted to having a good time. In these main towns during Carnival it seems that no one sleeps as the drinking and dancing go on from dusk till dawn. You’ll see beautiful costumes and people in masks everywhere, and you’ll have a lot more fun joining in the masquerades(化妆舞会)than just watching.

The Carnival in the Tenerife is possibly the biggest party held in Europe and the one most like the famous Carnival of Rio. One of the most popular events of the Carnival in Tenerife is the choosing of the Queen of Carnival. Keep in mind that you need tickets for many of the competitions. But if you can’t get tickets you can still head to the open air parties. The celebrations take place in the whole city, and everyone is eager to have a good time.

Off the southern coast of Spain, you’ll find a different sort of Carnival in Cadiz. While it’s a match for the Carnival in Tenerife in terms of fun and partying, the Carnival in Cadiz is special for its music. The crowded streets are full of musical groups, mostly singing mocking songs. The people in Cadiz are known to have the best sense of humor in Spain, and the music of Carnival reflects this. The costumes have a focus on cleverness.

You may have heard of the American Dream, an ideal that has powered the hopes of Americans for generations.

It began as a belief that the US was a land of opportunity, and that anyone could achieve success through hard work. At times, the dream has referred to home ownership, a good job, retirement security or each generation doing better than the last.

Yet today, this concept seems to have greatly changed. As Time magazine pointed out, quite different from the older generation, many Millennials (the generation born after 1980) redefine(重新定义) the American Dream as “day-to-day control of your life”. They “prize job mobility, flexible schedules, any work that is more interesting than typing, and the ability to travel”, said the magazine.

Home ownership, once the cornerstone of the American Dream, is becoming a smaller priority for this generation. Meanwhile, nearly 40% of them choose travel as part of their dream. And entrepreneurship(创业) is a rising favorite, as nearly 26% of Millennials consider self-employment as part of their dream.

So what has led to this huge change?

Many point fingers at the poor economy. “Modern young Americans seem bound to face a world stamped by ever narrowing opportunity and social stagnation(停滞),”noted The Daily Beast.

“The rate of 16-to 24-year-olds out of school and out of work is unusually high at 15%. Many college graduates have taken jobs that don’t require a degree,” Time reported.

The magazine worries that these difficulties may lead to a lost generation who are “unable to ever truly find their feet on the corporation’s ladder”.

Dan Kadlec, a reporter of Time, sees Millennials as resetting their expectations. “This situation is different for young adults today,” he wrote. “A true American dream has to feel attainable, and many Millennias are feeling they can only attain a day-today lifestyle that suits them.”