Does the US understand the European mindset?

(Tastes like you haven't done your research)

I remember a trip to the Sunshine State not too long ago (my first piece) that consists of my time in South Beach. I also spent a lot of time on the west coast and central Florida talking to the local folk, some born & bred and some from across other parts of the nation, who were all too happy to engage in conversation when they clocked onto my accent.

The most interesting chat I had with was Bill, a retiree originally from one of the numerous sprawling suburbs of New York City who was talking about the business him and his wife used to run before putting their feet up and buying property in Cape Coral. He sounded like an honest enough guy. He worked hard, paid his taxes and saved up enough to take it easy.

But when the conversation turned to Europe and in particular, the Eurozone, there were some interesting points he bought up, just a little example:

"These Italians sitting in their café's living 'La Dolce Vita' (Italian phrase meaning 'the sweet life') not working and now they're broke."

Blaming the people is the easy way out, but the blame doesn't not necessarily lie with the work ethic. The balance between work and leisure is seen all across Europe, not all in the Eurozone & European Union (including the UK). As an apprentice I get 22 days paid-leave a year, along with the usual stuff like a right to appeal for unfair dismissal, which is certainly no bad thing.

The European way would like, and as crude as it sounds to the American Puritan, to suggest that there is more to life than working. This mixture of work and down-time is beneficial to general health with reduction of stress, which in turn can bring on illness and mental complications.

Another plus is the paid-leave (vacation time) with the amount of days set in stone. One of the key points on why many Americans hold preconceived notions of other countries is the lack of time to travel overseas and witness, with their own eyes, how others live, instead of the media outlets telling them what's happening, usually filling the 'world' section on their respective websites with negative articles. It's not about being lazy, just appreciating other things than your job.
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