Cultural exchange program brings Slovakian teens to the Mountain State

By Matthew Young, RealWV

As a born and bred American, who’s never taken the opportunity to venture beyond our nation’s borders, the central European country of Slovakia might as well be on another planet. 

Having lived my formative years during the 1980’s Cold War era, I was vaguely aware of the Communist state of Czechoslovakia. I once nicknamed it “checkers and vodka,” because at 10-years-old I was exceedingly immature for my age – and fairly dimwitted. 

The Communist government was disposed of during the Velvet Revolution of 1989. This was apparently a peaceful uprising, and not an alternative rock band as I would have guessed before Googling it. Three years later, Czechoslovakia amicably separated into the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic – also known as Slovakia. 

Most of that information I just learned within the last hour or so. Apparently now at 45-years-old, on top of still being immature for my age, I’m somehow possibly even more dimwitted. So just imagine how enlightening it was to have two kids who weren’t even born until about 15 years after Slovakia became a country, spend a few minutes showing me the world through their eyes. 

After spending the last three weeks with a host family in West Virginia, Emma Fotopolosoba and Medej Chovanec, both just 16-years-old, will be returning home to Slovakia on Sunday. On Friday evening, hosts Linda Elliott and John Biros had a small gathering of musicians at their home, to introduce the two young travelers to the music of the Mountain State. I was lucky enough to attend this gathering, and luckier still to spend some time talking with Emma and Medej.

The bad news, at least according to Emma and Medej, is that the food in America is not as tasty as what’s typically eaten in Slovakia. Medej explained that most every meal is prepared completely from scratch. Very little is processed, few additives are used, and most ingredients are considerably fresher. Although in fairness, Medej did confess that he had not tried a Wendy’s Baconater on a pretzel bun. 

The good news, on the other hand, is that apparently West Virginians are typically more welcoming than those Emma and Medej interact with in their country. This was something that neither was expecting.

“People are not as friendly (in Slovakia) as they are here,” Emma said, but added that she would still encourage American teenagers to seek out the opportunity to visit her country. “It will be nice for them, they will like it.”

Both Emma and Medej made use of the Rotary Youth Exchange program to facilitate their trip to West Virginia. And while Medej jokingly explained that, “My parents told me I was coming – I had no idea,” Emma’s trip was very much of her own design. The United States is now the seventeenth country which the Rotary program has helped the 16-year-old Emma visit. 

“[I’ve been to] Czech (Republic), Austria, Germany, France, England, Spain, Croatia, Greece, Italy, and many other countries,” Emma said, before adding that she will be visiting Thailand in November. 

Considering their age, and the fact that their native language is Slovak, I was admittedly taken aback by how well they both spoke English. With 46 letters, Slovak has the longest alphabet of all European languages – yes, I just Googled that too – and is considered to be one of the most difficult in the world to master. I can only say that it is a testament to Slovakian culture, as well as their education system, that their teenagers are so well-versed in foreign languages. 

After we finished our chat, Jupie Little, Ted Harrison, and Michael Lipton of the Carpenter Ants – the aforementioned “gathered musicians” – played a few Appalachian gospel tunes for the kids. They both clapped their hands and bopped along to the music, and I got the sense that they didn’t think it was awful. But when I asked Emma what type of music she listens to back home, and she replied that pop is her favorite, I realized that there are some universal truths about teenagers, regardless of what country they’re from. Although, she did express an irrationally-strong dislike for Taylor Swift, but was unwilling to elaborate any further. 

Cultural Exchange

Both Emma and Medej come from the Banska Bystrika-area of Slovak, which, as it turns out, is Charleston’s Slovakian sister city. This international connection helps to provide West Virginia’s high schoolers the same opportunity to visit Slovakia that Emma and Medej have had to visit the United States. 

There is also a long-established cultural exchange program between the two cities, for which the Carpenter Ants have served, for nearly a decade, as unofficial ambassadors. Since 2016, the band has traveled to Slovakia six times to share the music and culture of West Virginia. The band’s two most recent trips have included playing shows for Ukrainian refugees. The band is not paid, and the trips are primarily self-funded, with some support from various local groups in both cities. 

Those wishing to make a small donation to help offset the cost can do so by clicking this link. 

In just a few short weeks, the band will again be making the trip to Banska Bystrica to play a full schedule of shows. They’ll be in Slovakia for 14 days, and have plans to visit with Emma and Medej again – this time on their turf. Hopefully, they will get to the bottom of the Taylor Swift situation before it becomes an international incident. 

Anyone who may be interested in the Rotary Youth Exchange program can find more information at rotary.org. To connect with a local Rotary representative, visit charlestonrotary.com.