What is an American?

I mean, to a writer. When you're characterizing an American, how do you do that? In my current book, I want to show the differences between my American character and the Muslims, the Europeans, that she runs into. Sometimes I'm in a foreign POV and need to show my lead through their eyes. If you face that predicament, here are some ideas I found on foreign websites that will help. Obviously, they do not reflect my personal views. Here goes:

Friendly
Generous
Hard-Working; Workaholics
Overweight
Unin