I am a citizen of the United States. I was born here. I was immersed into different cultures as my mother comes from South America and my fathers mother comes from Italy. But, a good aspect of US culture that I can speak about is the importance of money. The United States was always run with people who make and try to make the most amount of money possible. Everybody wants to work or make money. Everybody wants to be able to support themselves in our country where prices for goods are not cheap. Economics is how is our country truly began and how we grew so fast. People are very protective of their money and this can also lead to greed. People want to support their families and have money to do what they want to do.
As stated before, my mother is from South America. Her father immigrated here and had to work to make enough money to be able to support his family and live a good life with them in the US. My father however was born here. He decided to not go to college and start working right after high school. He wanted to make the most money possible as fast as possible to be able to give a good life to his future family. Money is a crucial role in our country because without it you cannot do the things you want to do. Business is the way that America grew into the country it is today. Money has a big role in power in our country. The more money, the more power a person can have. Top politicians are usually well set with money and that gives them an advantage to do what they would like for a political campaign. Now to me, money is important. Making money is apart of our culture. The American dream did not come from nothing. The U.S. has many ways for a person to make money. I will want to work and be able to gather enough money to be well off in life. This is most likely a shared perspective in the US. The power of money will most likely never leave the U.S. as a power symbol. All of the top people in the U.S. are wealthy. It is just human nature to want to succeed.
People outside of the US would probably agree with this aspect of our culture. Everybody wants to have some money it doesn’t matter the country. Working for money is a key to a “successful” life in our country. In other countries I imagine it is a similar mindset. I would be very surprised if people in different countries disagreed. Now I am not saying money is everything. However, it is a major topic for people.
This exercise helps me prepare for my time abroad because it will make me now think about what I have said about US culture. When I enter Italy and Europe I will be thinking about cultural differences that I notice. It is a jumpstart on my thinking process for studying abroad