Spot on! I find myself asking people this when getting to know them, and as a person living abroad, I often inwardly cringe when I hear myself asking it; I think, This sounds SO stereotypically American. The stereotype being that we’re all business, all the time. But I ask because I want to know; how is a person spending the majority of the days of their lives? To what are they dedicating all that invaluable time? Do they feel a deeper purpose in doing it? And is it what they’d still be doing if they had their choice of doing anything at all? That’s why, to me, the question is an important one — not a knee-jerk, stereotypical reflex or an attempt at banal filler. I’m glad I’m not the only one.