Iowa gives eastern European teens a taste of America

Birude Petkute and Zofia Prokopova, both travelers from eastern European countries, enjoy one of their American favorites: Bob's dogs from Bob's Drive Inn in Le Mars. The two girls are staying with a rural Hinton family for several weeks this summer through the Lions Youth Exchange program. [Click to enlarge]

But Birute Petkute, 17, and Zofia Prokopova, 18, were ecstatic.

That's because the two girls, spending a few weeks this summer in Hinton as part of the Lions Youth Exchange, had never seen one in real life.

Zofia Prokopova, Gary Schindel, Birude Petkute and Judy Schindel enjoy a taste of America at Bob's Drive Inn in Le Mars. They plan to enjoy a day at the Plymouth County Fair before they two girls return to Eastern Europe. [Click to enlarge]

The Lions Youth Exchange, headed up by Lions Club International, allows students to travel to other countries, live with families there and meet people their age from around the world.

Birute is from a city of 240,000 in Lithuania, a country northeast of Poland.

Zofia is from a city of 31,000 in Slovakia, which is just south of Poland.

They met one month ago via Facebook after they found out they were going on the youth exchange together.

"We really wanted to see the USA," Birute said.

Zofia agreed.

"We know the USA just from movies," she explained, adding there were so many things they'd only seen in movies they wanted to see in person.

Yellow school buses, for example.

"School buses are so cool," Zofia said.

"And I really wanted to see a baseball game because I've never seen one before," Birute added.

The two teens are staying with Gary and Judy Schindel, of rural Hinton for five weeks.

"Every day we see something new," Birute said.

They watched baseball and softball games -- which isn't as widely played in eastern Europe as America.

They tubed down the Floyd River on the Fourth of July.

And they went to enough parades with Gary, who rides in the Abu Bekr White Horse Mounted Patrol, to learn the tricks to get more candy.

"We try to sit near small kids," Zofia said with a grin.

When they first drove through Hinton with the Schindels, Birute thought one of the streets was from the TV series "Desperate Housewives."

One day, the girls rode their bicycles to Merrill where they visited Margaret Spies who is 100 years old.

"She remembers everything," Zofia said.

The two girls also went roller skating -- a brand new experience to both.

"I fell down a lot of times; it was so funny," Birute said.

Another day, at an estate auction with Gary, Zofia accidentally raised her hand at the wrong moment.

"I almost bought some land," she laughed.

On Sundays, they went to church with the Schindels in Hinton.

"We like American churches, because in our countries they are more strict," Birute said.

Zofia added it stood out to her that people are in close relationships at church.

The two girls also spent a week at the Lions Youth Exchange Camp in Madrid, Iowa, with youth from Iowa and around the globe.

"Right away when they got back from camp they had to get on Facebook to talk to people," Judy said with a chuckle.

During their visit, the two girls have also gotten their fair share of American food.

Birute likes chicken nuggets. Zofia favors cheese balls and pizza.

And they both love Bob's Drive Inn in Le Mars.

"It's the best hot dog," Birute said.

Zofia and Birute also have a collection of Iowa clothing now.

"When I came, my suitcase was almost empty, and I said, 'OK, now I can buy everything," Birute said with a laugh.

They've got T-shirts and sweatshirts supporting the Hinton Blackhawks, Iowa colleges and more.

"American clothes are more bright, colorful," Zofia said.

The two girls are enjoying the chance to speak English every day.

They've both studied the language for at least five years.

"We only speak it sometimes in schools, or we hear it in the movies," Zofia said. "Now we are also thinking in English."

There are some differences between Iowa and their home countries, the girls said, but not so many as one might think.

"It's the same except ball games and trucks," Zofia said.

Birute said trucks are a less popular vehicle in eastern Europe.

"And in high schools in Iowa, many people are in sports -- softball, baseball, basketball," Zofia added. "Where we are, not every high school has its own sports teams."

"And we don't have so many competitions between schools," Birute added.

The two girls have had to clear up a few myths about Lithuania and Slovakia.

"Some people are asking us if we have TVs or cell phones," Zofia said. "Yes, we do."

This is the third time Gary and Judy hosted students through the Lions Youth Exchange.

Judy said the experience is great fun.

"And you learn, too," her husband added. "It's an opportunity for us to get first-hand knowledge of things that go on in other countries. Things that are similar and different."

When Zofia heads back to Slovakia, she's going to start driving lessons.

"In Europe you can't drive cars until you're 18," Birute said.

Zofia also has plans to study law in college. She finished high school this past year.

When Birute returns to Lithuania, she has two years left of high school, but she already knows she wants to pursue architecture.

"I love math and art," she said.

But before the girls board the plane Thursday, they have a list of things to do in Iowa.

"I want to eat Mexican food, bake a real American apple pie and visit an Iowa university and the Hinton school," Birute said.

Zofia agreed, adding she wants to go to Palmer Candy in Sioux City to get some Cherry Bings.

"We love them," she said. "We can eat them any time."

They're sad they don't get to see cheerleaders or an American football game.

"We don't have them in Slovakia," Zofia said.

The two girls said they miss their family, but feel at home with Gary and Judy, and their son Brad, who lives next door with his wife Brenda and their children.

"Now we feel like part of the family," Zofia said.

Iowa turned out to be a perfect place for them to get to know the USA, they agreed.

"I will be really sad to leave because it was so good of an experience here," Birute said.

"Yes, we are really popular here," Zofia cut in, grinning. "Iowa...Iowa means corn, soybeans and really friendly people."