“Europeans are always on strike”
A few days ago we met with several of C.’s friends. One of them told me:
– “Europeans finish work at 3 pm and they don’t do anything for the rest of the day, right? They have very relaxed lives”.
I told him that when I was working in Spain I finished work at 6.30 or 7 pm. He looked confused. “But you frequently go on strike, right? And there’s a lot of people on benefits and they don’t work or do anything”.
This guy went to Germany for a business trip last year, so I am wondering what he saw there. Or maybe he got these ideas from reading the news.
He also asked me if it was true that meals last for 5 or 6 hours. I don’t know, if it’s a party, maybe. Or perhaps Italian families! I also have this stereotype in my head of Italians having large family gatherings and eating and chatting for hours. But I guess they only do this on the weekends and on holidays. Unless they finish work at 3 and then spend the rest of the day eating!
A few days later I had a related conversation with C.’s mum. She had found a bag with all of C.’s report cards from primary to high school. Well, they were not exactly cards, more like booklets. While I was checking them and laughing at the time he got a 34 in history, his mum asked me if schools in Spain also graded children. I answered that of course and she was very surprised. Now I’m wondering if (some) Chinese people think schools in western countries are just playgrounds where kids go to have fun!
C.’s grades for one of the trimesters of the 1996-1997 school year. His grades were still good (although not as good as mine, haha).
What are some surprising stereotypes that foreigners have about your country?
Italians have a lot of stereotypes and u just named one (it is not that even that much of stereotype, honestly speaking, we like chatting in family). Other stereotypes are that every italian is a mafiaman, that we speak loud and gesticulate a lot (which is true but of course not everyone is like that, especially those Italians who go abroad and know how to behave properly), that we just eat pasta and pizza and we never work ;) by the way my boyfriend, who is from Hong Kong, thinks the same about Europe, always on strike ;)
Maybe Chinese people find it surprising and remember it for a long time? But it’s not like everybody is always on strike, some specific sectors go on strike sometimes but for example I’ve never done it xD
I saw a funny meme about Italians the other day: https://en.dopl3r.com/memes/dank/alien-italien/21184
I love memes especially about Italians ahahah there were a lot recently on internet ;) yeah exactly, it is not like everyone is on strike but it seems in Asia “striking” is not as common as here in Europe so I guess for them it is a bit weird
Ha, when I worked in International Sales, my boss was always desperate to get all Spanish deals finalized before August. She told me that in August, Spain pretty much goes on vacation and there’s no way to get answers…or payment. True, or a stereotype?
Most of the people go on holidays in August, yes. Not sure how they do in media companies, but when I was working in Spain people took turns for the holidays, so there was always someone in the office in August!
Yes, people take turns for the holidays in Spanish companies, but August is the most desirable month to go, and usually the manager/person who approves expenses is away when you most need him/her! (it’s sort of a Murphy’s law for holidays). On the other hand, a few years ago I also had problems getting answers in August from US cultural institutions, so I asumed it was a bit the same at the other side of the Atlantic.
Yeah, Labor Day Weekend (end of August/ beginning of Sept.) you’d probably never get anyone you needed in the U.S. :)
Ha, I do have these stereotypes about Europe of long annual leaves, strikes (the French), and Southern Europeans having siestas/long lunches. But I also heard that businesses and shops close later, which makes sense. The stereotypes that C’s friend and his mother have are a bit extreme and hilarious.
We do have long annual leaves, of 1 month in Spain. But I don’t think it’s too long, I mean, you spend 11 months working and 1 resting, it’s only fair, right? If I was Chinese I would go on strike to demand more holidays.
In Spain shops close way later than in the UK for example. But nowadays only small shops close for “siesta”, malls and supermarkets stay open!
One month is fantastic, especially compared to 12 days in Hong Kong or 5 days in China. But one month is not too long at all as I’ve heard of 2 or even 3 months in France, Germany and Scandinavian countries.
So it seems Spanish people do work hard and don’t get as much annual leave as other European countries.
Er, 3 months sounds a bit of an exaggeration! That has to be student holidays surely? What I found so far was in France you can get up to 9.5 weeks but 4.5 weeks of those are compensation for working extra hours.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_minimum_annual_leave_by_country
Of course Spanish people work hard, haha, but we still have to bear with the stereotype of being lazy and sleeping siesta every day xD
What I find more surprising is that in the US there are no minimum paid vacations at all… how can people live like that??
Ok, seems like I was mistaken. I really did think workers in countries like Germany got 2-3 months, and I’d heard that from other people too. But the French do get 5.5 weeks which is still very good.
Well you need to educate more Chinese about the real Spanish work ethic, haha.
I’m surprised about the US too. That does look crazy though I wonder if maybe this issue is regulated by the separate states and not by the federal government.
It seems it’s totally up to each company to offer holidays or not!
Haha those stereotypes. I really do wonder how they get some of those ideas. Okay, strikes do tend to happen rather often and in a big way in France and few other countries but having short work/ eating half day long, what the hell is that :o
I think they see it on the news and then they remember it all their lives haha. Like when people see the throwing tomato festival or the running of the bulls and think all Spanish people do that…
Have you ever been on strike?? I haven’t, haha.
No I haven’t been on a strike yet :p
Anyhow I just remembered two huge strikes here in Germany in the past two years. One was by the Lufthansa pilots who complained that earning 150k Euros per year (starting salary) ain’t enough and the other was the Deutsche Bahn (Railway). The railway was especially bad as people couldnt get to work for more than 6 weeks altogether that year!!
Yes, those are the ones that affect more people so they get lots of attention in the media as everybody is understandably worried. If I went on strike no one would even notice hahaha.
I know training for pilots is very expensive but surely 150k should be enough to pay it quite fast!
The Training costs roughly 60k (at least back in 2008). Besides many airlines offer the training for free, at least for the best ones going through an admission
Just so (some) people know / kangaroos don’t jump down the streets in Sydney. Enjoyed reading your post as usual Marta. I used to find it amusing what (some) Chinese thought of us westerners.
Whaaaat? No kangaroos in the middle of the cities in Australia??? :_(
He he. Funnily enough…no!!!
Wow, I wish we all finished at 3pm! 8.30am to 5pm with half an hour lunch break for me! I know some other European countries have slightly shorter working hours and longer lunch breaks but really that just seems sensible considering I struggle to concentrate after lunch.
Maybe as it’s certain important sectors who strike (such as Junior Doctors in the UK) it’s more prominent in international news and they just assume we are all at it? I fully support any strikes if people are being taken advantage of but it’s definitely not the majority of us who do that! :)
I struggle to concentrate on Fridays. The weekend should have 3 days instead of 2 xD
Ha! If only someone in the world could be living the dream….I think you guys should only work 5 hours a day. Why not, no one under 30 has a job anyway.
I was just talking to some Europeans about going to university and I just wanted to punch a wall. It’s all free (or so close to free that it doesn’t matter). We’re all slaves to student debt in the states. Maybe that’s why we don’t strike all the time….
And keep in mind that a Chinese 34% in history is like an American 89% in history, so don’t beat him up too much!
At least in Spain, the young unemployment mostly affects people with no education, or with very useless degrees that can only aspire to pass the national exam and be a teacher in a public school. Or at least most of the people I know have jobs! (Although some of them might not be too good!).
I’ve never understood how American universities are so expensive. But then, it seems salaries there are way higher and you are supposed to be able to pay it back relatively easily, no? When I was in college, the fee for my degree was 800 Euro per year. I read that in the UK university is very expensive too.
I have no comments for this blog post, but I just saw a Taiwanese-Spanish interracial family this afternoon here in Taiwan at an MRT station and it reminded me of you. The Taiwanese husband spoke fluent Spanish with his Spanish wife and it appeared that the whole family (they had three kids with them) had adopted Spanish as the language spoken at home.
PS: I don’t actually know Spanish so for all I know they could’ve been speaking another language… But it sounded Spanish. (-:
Haha, thanks for remembering me then! I once knew a Spanish family that moved to Taiwan, they had 4 kids who grew up speaking Chinese among them (but the parents couldn’t speak Chinese, haha. The kids learned at school there I guess).
HAHAHAHA :’DDD This is really funny :’DDD
Well, that friend was not very wrong about Germany, though. There are a lot of strikes here. A lot of people think that work life is very relaxing here, but it actually is not true. Out of Europe, Germany is the country where workers work over time the most and not get paid. Also the school system is considered to be one of the hardest and strictest. I remember during my A levels I used to have afternoon school every day except for Fridays. So by the time I arrived home, it was already 6pm and I nearly didn’t have time for homework and studying because I had to go to sleep already to wake up at 6am.
I think Germany could actually keep up with the strict school and work life known in Asia.
So I guess that’s why a lot of people go on strike here.
One stereotype I heard from my foreign friends about Germany was that everyone in Germany is basically rich :’D
It’s not true at all. There are many people living below the middle class lifestlye and a lot of addicts living on the streets. But it is really your own fault if you land on the streets. The social care system here is actually pretty good.
In China, many people definitely think that “foreigners” in general are rich. I think nowadays it’s the other way around, Chinese usually have and spend more money!
Chinese people have the reputation for working long hours, but based on what I’ve seen… yes, they stay in the office for many hours, but not necessarily all of them working!! xD
Actually, those were my european friends who thought that all germans are rich :D
Yes that’s true. They are not working all those hours. I think it would make more sense to let them work less in the Office but more effectively during those hours.
Haha I love this post… and I wonder if there is any truth to it?
I think it’s hard to lump all of the European countries together and say that they all don’t get graded, or on strike, or work until 3 PM. I know Germans work pretty hard (when I used to work in Shanghai at conventions, everyone would leave at 5 PM except for the Japanese and Germans, haha); but maybe Italian and French are a little different.
I think, compared to Americans, Europeans overall spend more time on their meals (cause they actually enjoy it). My American friends will wolf down food in 30 minutes and want to get going–where I want to sit, chat, have a dessert and sip coffee until my full hour is up, haha (I must be European deep down).
I think maybe the French fulfill this stereotype? I know there are some that work super hard, but when I was in Paris I saw all the cafes on the street full at 3 PM, and it made me wonder–who is actually working? How can they all sit out here and have coffee!?
I also saw more strikes than I could count in France, haha. I couldn’t help but balk when I found out one strike was for working 40 hrs/week… before they only worked 30-35 and they thought 40 was like slave labor. Sigh.
From your response it sounds like Spain is not different from the states in terms of work style! Minus the siesta, maybe ;)
Well, you are half Irish, no? So there’s your European “I want to relax during lunch time” bit :D
In France the 35 hour work week was approved ages ago. They know what’s good, haha. I think in Paris all the people outside during work hours must be tourists… or maybe the unemployed. But can you afford to live in Paris and sit in a cafe if you are unemployed? Maybe they were just rich people xD