From across borders and oceans, they came to the United States to watch soccer. Along the way, they have encountered American classics: the first bites of Raising Cane’s chicken, wide-eyed tours through the outsized commercial landscape that is a Buc-ee’s travel plaza, and the realization that pretty much everything American is enormous.
But World Cup tourists from other lands have taken in more than just the food and the size.
Their views of the United States — in many cases forged through the sometimes distorted establishing shots presented by the news media, TikTok and fuzzy word of mouth — are now informed by what they’ve seen with their own eyes. And in many cases, the spectacles have contradicted — or at least augmented — what they knew when they arrived.
Many landed expecting the politically fractured country that global headlines often trumpet. Instead, they found Uber drivers brimming with recommendations and locals willing to open their homes to strangers. Even as game attendees grappled with the sticker shock of ticket prices, some Americans they met didn’t even know the World Cup was going on — or didn’t care.
Here’s what some tourists told The Associated Press about their experience in the United States over the past few weeks — and what impressions they’ll take home when they go.
