Michael Ashe: Differences Between American And Canadian Culture

Introduction
If we look closely at the cultures of other individuals, we would realize that we are a lot alike in many ways. Canadians and Americans are very similar in regards to culture. This paper will explain how my husband Michael Ashe feels that there are very minor differences between Americans and Canadian cultures. Michael values his family and friends, he has had high points and low points in his life, he has religious beliefs, an education and career, as well as his interests just as many Canadians do.
Family & Friends Firstly, Michael moved to Canada in March of 2014 from Indiana, United states to live with me here in Canada and he had adapted relatively quickly to living here because Canadian culture is very similar to American

His mother’s name is Kim and she lives in Texas with her husband Steve, and her son Steven. Michael speaks to his mom very often since they do not live close by, but it seems as though that has made them closer because they make an effort in communicating. Michael mentioned in the interview that his stepfather Steve was more of the father figure type than his actual father because he was around more often to show him how to do gender role tasks that males usually do such as mowing the lawn and how to fix a car. In the textbook it explains gender roles as “constellations of rights, duties, attitudes and behaviors that are culturally associated with each gender (Bonvillain 2013: 254)”. Michael mentioned in the interview that his stepfather taught him how to become a man. Michael’s father’s name is John and he lives in Lowell Indiana with his wife Carmen and their son Ryan, and

Michael decided to move to Canada when we met through the online social media website called Twitter at the end of 2013. When we started talking it was like fireworks because we felt as though we have known each other for years. We knew that we wanted to be together even at the beginning of a long distance relationship. Every night for about four months we would video chat and then he finally came to visit in March 2014. He has found Canada to be his new home and sees this as a high point in his life because he has finally found stability after moving around a lot while growing up. Michael does not see many differences between Canada and America. The only differences that he saw when he got to Canada were that we use kilometers and Americans use miles when driving. The other difference he saw was that the signs and some people in Montreal are French but it is still possible to find people that will be able to communicate in English. Michael learned Canadian culture very fast through enculturation. In the textbook it shows that enculturation is “the process of learning one’s culture through informal observation and formal instruction (Bonvillain 2013: 24)”. This is exactly how Michael learned how to live and act in Canada because he would ask me often what a word means in French when we would pass a sign on the road and eventually learned what the signs say without