Living to Work vs. Working to Live

One of my oldest and best friends came over tonight, and we were hanging out. She has been to Paris before, and we were discussing the city. We talked about her favorite parts of the city, the French culture, and what I was looking most forward too. I told her I was looking forward to experience French culture for myself. That is when she brought up how she liked how "relaxed the city seemed." That is when I was able to explain the different type of work ethics that the United States and French have. The US lives to work. We are a very ambitious country, and we have a very intense work ethic. However, the French seem to appreciate leisure and relaxation more than we do. I wish I knew what it was like to live in a country that knew there was a difference between laziness and relaxation- the concept as a whole is so mind-blowing. This is one of the differences that I find so interesting between the two US and France. I hope I am able to observe there more relaxed way of life just like my friend was able to!