When I was teaching newcomers to Canada, I was fascinated by cultural differences regarding work. I remember talking to a student from Hong Kong, a woman who was upgrading her computer skills while gaining Canadian work experience at a half-day internship at a local school office. In Hong Kong she had been a teacher and a school administrator. She was a hard worker. The only complaint the Canadian school had about her was that she didn't walk around the office - she jogged.
When told that her running made her co-workers uncomfortable, she was surprised. In Hong Kong, only lazy people walk, she replied. Running shows I'm a hard worker.
In Canada, nobody runs, I reassured her. Well, maybe firefighters... (Did she conclude that we are all lazy? I didn't ask!)
I thought of this student when someone I know mentioned that she was expecting a friend from Japan to arrive for a short visit. She's only coming for 3 days, she told me. It's hardly worth it because it takes her two days to get here and two days to go back.
Do people only get one week's vacation a year in Japan? I asked.
No, they get two - but apparently if they ask for the second week, they are considered lazy. Nobody asks for their second week off!
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