Foreigners visiting the US for the world cup shared the things that have surprised them about the country – 18 top takes

The World Cup is well underway, and the travelling fans have been enjoying the games, the food and the hospitality of Mexico, Canada, and – of course, the good ol’ US of A.

Over on r/AskReddit, American Goldent3abqg wanted to know what kind of an impression their country was making.

‘Foreigners visiting America for the world cup, what is something that has surprised you about this country?’

The responses were a mixed bag, and included an object lesson in not believing national stereotypes.

1.

How HUGE your food portions are.
Tha_Knucklehead

2.

The unwalkability of everything. To get to shops from my hotel I had to cross over a major highway if I wanted to walk, so I had to drive everywhere.
Prometheus_Thorne

3.

How fast people bring up insurance over tiny stuff. Guy saw me slip and went “take pictures”, bro, I just missed a step.
Least-Operation5754

4.

Colombian girl here. The thing that shocked me the most? How friendly random strangers are. People just start conversations with you in line at the grocery store. Back home that would be weird.
InsideVictoria

5.

Added Tax. Why product say 5 dollar but cashier wants 550?
SuburbanHyena

6.

Despite having 15+ booths at immigration, only three of them were staffed. That surprised me.
TheAndyLaurel

7.

Backpack on front isn’t necessary since pickpocketing isn’t very common. If someone is going to rob you, they will let you know.
Gratusin

8.

The sheer size of everything. you look at the map and think you can drive between cities easily, then realize its an all day trip.
Opposite-courage8671

9.

Handing over your credit card to pay for things, that’s an insane amount of trust you have in people. If we pay for a meal at a restaurant, the server will either bring a payment terminal to the table or they will take you to where the terminal is.
Aquilax420