07/31/2026
The World Cup: What Others See That We Don't- While watching this year's World Cup, I found myself thinking about more than just the matches. It took me back to my own introduction to soccer in elementary school, learning the game from a classmate who had moved here from Portugal, and later to playing on a high school team made up of teammates from Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland, South America, and the West Indies. We came from different backgrounds, spoke different languages, and played with different styles, yet somehow the game brought us together.
That same idea resurfaced as millions of fans traveled to the United States for this year's World Cup. What caught my attention wasn't just the excitement surrounding the tournament, but the comments from visitors who described America as welcoming, friendly, and far different than the picture they expected. They weren't only impressed by the famous landmarks. It was the everyday things many of us hardly notice anymore: the kindness of strangers, exceptional customer service, the variety of choices, the size of our supermarkets, and even something as simple as free drink refills.
Sometimes it takes seeing ourselves through someone else's eyes to appreciate what we've had all along.... Read the full story in this month's newsletter https://conta.cc/3S2VlkY
