World Cup visitors say U.S. trip challenged expectations

International soccer fans visiting the United States for the World Cup told the Associated Press that everyday encounters with Americans reshaped some of their assumptions about the country. Many arrived with concerns shaped by news coverage, social media and word of mouth, then described a trip marked by hospitality, curiosity and some surprise at how little attention the tournament drew from some locals.

The AP reported that visitors from Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America have also been sampling American staples, including Raising Cane’s chicken and Buc-ee’s travel plazas. Several tourists said the scale of American food, stores and cars stood out, but their stronger impression was how often strangers offered help, advice or invitations.

Visitors describe a warm welcome

Sebastian Reader, a 28-year-old from London, told the AP he planned a three-month U.S. trip around the World Cup and followed England’s team from city to city. Reader said he found friendliness in larger cities such as Chicago and Boston and in less-populated places including Arkansas.

In Dallas, Reader told the AP, one person he met at a Mexican restaurant showed him a truck and revved the engine. Another local invited him and a friend to sit on a front porch, where they talked about movies and sports late into the night.

Harry Gunns, 30, also from London, told the AP that earlier trips to Texas and California had not prepared him for the amount of welcome he felt during the tournament. He said Uber drivers, hotel workers and people responding to his social media posts offered recommendations, and some invited him for home-cooked meals.

Gunns said many Americans he met did not realize the United States was hosting the World Cup. He told the AP he hoped the presence of international fans would expose more Americans to soccer.

Zineb Benlamlih, 28, from Morocco, told the AP she visited New York for the World Cup and ended up salsa dancing in Central Park with a group of older dancers. She described the experience as unusually open, saying strangers felt easy to approach.

Victoria Phillips-Hunter, 34, from Carlisle, England, praised U.S. hospitality workers in her comments to the AP. Having worked in hospitality herself, she said American service workers put strong effort into caring for customers and deserved their tips.

Politics and safety concerns follow fans

Several visitors told the AP they had expected more visible tension because of how U.S. politics and public safety are portrayed abroad. Phillips-Hunter said she had been wary before traveling after seeing social media videos involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, but told the AP her experience was positive enough that she wants to return for a longer trip.

Gunns told the AP he believes some people have avoided traveling to the United States because of President Donald Trump. He said media coverage in the United Kingdom can portray Americans, and Texans in particular, as proud in a way that suggests they may reject outsiders, but his own experience did not match that view.

Benlamlih told the AP that friends from Chad and Somalia wanted to attend the World Cup but could not enter because of U.S. travel restrictions. She said the excitement of Morocco’s World Cup moment existed alongside a poor global image of the United States from a political standpoint.

Rafal Kolankowski, who is originally from Poland and now coaches varsity boys’ soccer at Plum High School near Pittsburgh, told the AP that the United States has a poor reputation in some countries but still attracts people who want to move there. Reader said he expected to find political polarization, yet found Americans friendly while avoiding political conversations during his trip.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.