The leave thing is definitely a good point. I couldn't believe how little annual leave Americans get when my friend's American husband told me (one of many reasons why I think she is hoping they will move back to the UK by the time they have kids! That and healthcare!). I think he gets 3 weeks a year but a week of that is technically sick leave? Which sounds insane to me.

I get 25 days annual leave plus public holidays (and if I work them I get them back) which works out at about 30 days total. Because I work for the NHS my leave is also dependent on length of service, so from August I'll get another 5 days a year taking me up to 35. And sick leave is totally seperate and we can take up to 30 days paid (but after a week we require a doctor's note). And that's pretty average for the UK.

Yeah, it just totally depends on who you work for what kind of leave you get, but generally it isn't enouhg-particularly for parents (maternity leave, for example).

Chris is a particularly bad example as being in a PhD program is like a job without the benefits of treating you like it's a job. Technically he has sick days in addition to a certain amount of days of leave per year....his mentor just doesn't like it when he uses it, because she so rarely uses hers. :-P

Anyway, it's one reason why education is appealing. While during the school year, teachers work a LOT after school hours, at home and on weekends for what isn't really enough- at least there are public/school holidays that are guaranteed days off. And while summer breaks are routinely taken up partially by workshops and early preparation for a new year, there is still more time there than is automatically given in other careers.

Chris and I have just learned we'll be taking a vacation in May (!!! eeek, I am so excited! It's a graduation gift from my fantastic parents!) and so we talked about the leave issue since he'll need to take time off when we go.

I asked him, and he said he's technically only entitled university holidays and two weeks. I knew it wasn't much, but good grief. Argh.
Like I said, he's a bad example as a grad student and not someone with a 'real' job so to speak, but that is absolute crap, anyway. :-P

At any rate, Americans would not know what to do with themselves if we all typically got a month's worth of days off! :-P That is really a lot.
That is totally unheard of here, except in situations like teachers on summer break. (and even then, it's not as long as people think because of what teachers have to do for a new year, etc.)

I've transferred this discussion to the 'If you could live in any country' forum thread as it seems more relevant to that one!

Believe me, if Americans had the same amount of leave as other countries, they'd find ways of using it. And perhaps they WOULD travel more! I usually take a week in spring to go away, and another week in autumn (as it's cheaper than summer for travelling), sometimes I go somewhere in the UK, other times I go further away. The rest of it I take as long weekends to either visit my family in Wales, or friends around the UK, or to go away somewhere that's not too far (I used 3 days to go on a long weekend with friends to Berlin last November for example). I also take the odd day here and there if there's something I need to do on that day (e.g. I took an extra day after my study leave for my exam, to visit friends while I was in London).

I also tend to use some of my annual leave to study for exams. I get 30 days study leave a year in addition to my annual leave, but only 5 days of that is allowed to be for private study (for exams). The rest has to be used to attend courses. So I often end up using my annual leave too.

And it's still nowhere near like what teachers get (teachers here get at least 12 weeks annual leave a year! Which is more than double what I get :P)

Sorry, that should say 'at the very least', not 'very list'

I'm not American, I'm Canadian, but I know I am going to have trouble convincing my boyfriend to travel outside of Canada. Which is why I am going to travel without him ;-)

In all seriousness, I feel that money has a lot to do with it. I feel that my boyfriend might be curious to travel if prices were less. (But then again, maybe I am overly sensitive towards the cost of flights because of my own location -- I live on an island).

It is insanely expensive for you to travel because of your location. But that has never stopped you from hoping to travel one day, and you will do, very soon! :)

You make a good point though that perhaps if people see travelling as impossible because of the cost, they just don't think about it. I hadn't thought of that.

"if people see travelling as impossible because of the cost, they just don't think about it."

That's what I was saying...

Yes, and I didn't disagree with you on that point.

I just saw Beth's comment explaining it in that way, first.

I agree. It's the cost of travelling that makes me not be able to do it. I would give anything to be able to travel somewhere, anywhere, but, unfortunately, real life and its expenses have a hold on my wallet right now.

I dont think its because our country is so big. Many places have a "this place is better" disease in America. I know many many people who have never left Colorado, or Wisconsin where I grew up, if you ask them why, they say "whats there thats not here?" uhm..history, monuments, museums, amazingness. Then again I travel to learn, not to have fun. They dont even want to travel outside their state, why would the want to leave the country.

I feel sorry for those people without a natural curiosity to see other places. I understand baby boomers, because they were born in the Super Empire world post WWII. But the younger generations? That kind of mentality scares me.

I cannot imagine never leaving the place I grew up. I love that I have been all across the US and to Mexico. I love that I have dreams and plans to go elsewhere. I cannot comprehend not wanting to learn about the history of the world.

The idea that American children are taught dislike for other countries/cultures in public schools is ludicrous. I just have to point that out, because that is total nonsense!

Given the constant new influences of students with various backgrounds (many who don't speak English) as well as various abilities (due to inclusion of students with special needs in a large amount of mainstream classes) , students are constantly being taught about diversity. They certainly aren't taught to look at other countries or cultures as being beneath them because they are different.

My school it was that way. We didnt have any one except white kids. Infact I think we had one black child for a semester the whole time I was there. I am not saying they are raised to be racist, but with the way our history books are skewed and taught it absolutely has an 'America is Best' attitude.

School population in public schools is decided upon based on location-your teachers couldn't control what race children lived in the area that was zoned for your school. That doesn't have anything to do with how they taught you-unless they somehow told you that it was better that way, or that you were better because your class was less diverse.


At any rate, a lot of textbooks aren't necessarily good-that shouldn't matter. Decent teachers don't teach straight from books, they aren't the gospel. :-P So while I am one, I have to blame teachers. It's up to individuals to have the right attitude about what they teach. With that, it wouldn't matter what your classmates' races were, or if the textbook wasn't thorough-it's about instilling the idea that there is a larger world outside of where we live.

But it DOES matter what the races are when your teachers have lived the same sheltered life they are passing down to the kids, that is what I am saying. It does matter when they give you the America is Best attitude. We never had world history, because my history teacher decided it wasnt needed. We had American History, and anything we learned about the world was connected to America. That is all I was saying, that they give you America is Best and then people wonder why we think America is best. If that even makes sense.

I get that. If a teacher passes down a sheltered attitude because there is a lack of diversity around them, and/or leaves out a subject they don't want to include (even though it was certainly required by national standards in social studies, in addition to your state's standards)-then they did not do their job whatsoever. That is sad. :(

Also just to add-I don't think the original poster was trying to make that point specifically, as she was saying how her friends had little curiosity-just wanted to say you can't jump from that saying children are taught to dislike people from overseas, because that just doesn't make sense. :-P

That's good to know! I wasn't under the impression that it was, until hearing what Expecting Baby #3 said.

"The idea that American children are taught dislike for other countries/cultures in public schools is ludicrous. I just have to point that out, because that is total nonsense! "
^ I agree with that. Even just the idea of Americans not being interested in different cultures I find amusing because I have come across a lot of americans that are literally fascinated by some different cultures. And these weren't classmates of mine, they were, for example, parents of these classmates.

Opps, didn't mean to post with this diary.

I know a few who can do it.

But how many of them went to an international school in Europe?

That said, I'm sure there are a few. In this case I WAS generalising!

Not all of them actually, and either way, I'm pointing out that I can't base it soley on my experiences and acquaintences. And one way or another, those that I did meet in an international school in Europe are still American. They're all part of the bigger population.