TURIN, Italy - Though it’s at least an 8-hour flight and thousands of miles away from home, Team USA fans have flocked to Turin to catch a glimpse of the Olympics. Students, athletes’ families and tourists have crowded into the city and the surrounding mountain towns armed with event tickets and tour books of the city sights.

Picking out the Americans is easier than finding a coffee bar in this town. Ski jackets, sneakers and jeans, baseball caps and loud, distinctive accents make them the most easily recognized foreigners.

For some U.S. tourists, coming to the Olympics is the opportunity of a lifetime.

“Ever since I was old enough to know what the Olympics were I’ve been watching them on TV,” said Kathryn Dubowski, 19, of Queens, N.Y. “The thought of being able to be here and see stuff live — it’s just unbelievable.”

Dubowski, studying in Madrid in exchange for credits at Barnard College in New York, made the short trip from Spain — it’s about an hour flight — for a long weekend, though a packed Turin forced her to find a hotel room in Milan.

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After watching women’s ice hockey and snowboarding, the experience has lived up to her expectations, and there is just one thing that would make her trip complete: “If I could see Michelle Kwan [around Turin], I would probably just die,” she said. 

The most visible “Amis,” as they are known in Europe, are the missionaries. With their cowboy hats and colorful jackets, it’s not hard to spot the chaplains from Action Ministries handing out their “Jesus pins” on Piazza San Carlo where NBC films “Today."  Many of their workers are Games regulars — Myrna Gregory of Mississippi has been to Salt Lake City, Athens and is now hoping to spread the word here.

Faith Driggers, 24, of Fort Worth, Texas is also in town with an international missionary group and is scouring the city with pamphlets and bookmarks.

“It’s been going well so far — there are a lot of people and we’ve handed out a lot of guides,” she said during her first day of work.

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Then there are the athletes’ families. They are the most numerous and, without doubt, the most visible of all the American fans. Jackets, hats and bags all sport the stars and stripes, though they have nothing on the Dutch fans who wouldn’t be caught dead in any other color than orange.

Close to 20 members of U.S. speedskater Charles Ryan Leveille’s family came to watch him “win gold,” according to his aunt Susie Leveille.

But whatever their reason for coming, the Americans in Turin are thrilled with the experience to attend the world’s largest sporting event.

“The atmosphere is really wonderful,” said Micah Winograd, 21, who flew in from Jerusalem from his junior year abroad at Hebrew University. “That’s really why you’re here — to feel the atmosphere.”

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