While traveling through Indiana ahead of the World Cup, Swedish tourist Elsa Thora spotted a yellow school bus rolling down the street and immediately screamed with excitement.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“I feel like I’m in a movie,” the 24-year-old later wrote in a post on X, sharing photos of two quintessential American snacks she picked up at a local market: Buffalo blue cheese baked pretzels and Hostess Twinkies.
As international soccer fans like Thora pour into North America ahead of Thursday’s kickoff, their amused observations about life in the U.S.are becoming an unexpected source of entertainment — and pride — for many Americans on social media.Thora, who has tickets to see both Sweden and England play in upcoming matches, has documented everything from tasting ranch dressing for the first time (“Why did no one tell me ranch sauce is like crack?” she wrote on X) to wandering the aisles of a Trader Joe’s grocery store (which she described as “too healthy for my liking”).
“I think a lot of Swedish people kind of think of the U.S.as, you know, the land of the free, and this big cool country,” Thora said in a video interview with NBC News on Wednesday, after landing at her next destination: San Francisco.
“And it does feel like that being here, it just feels a bit surreal,” she added.The social media posts from a handful of tourists, which have amassed millions of views, have offered a more lighthearted counterpoint to the political discourse that has shaped perceptions of the U.S.in recent monthsThe U.S, which is hosting this year’s World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada, is staging 78 of the tournament’s 104 matches across 11 cities.
But President Donald Trump’s travel bans and restrictions on 39 countries have created hurdles for some fans and participants hoping to attend matches.As of Wednesday, NBC News reported, 15 Iranian officials have b...