Exchange student visits Weiser to reconnect with community

He came to Weiser in 2001.

 His experience left such an indelible impression upon him, he was inspired to come back, about six or seven times now, to Weiser and other locations throughout the United States.

 Mikael Kulle, a Swedish citizen, returned recently to reconnect with Weiser residents George and Jeri Soulier who served as host parents for the then teenager who spent a year absorbing all he could from not only the American culture, but the local community.

 “It’s been 23 years; I’ve been in touch with my host parents ever since 2001 and they have come to Sweden and visited me there, multiple times, which I was very glad for them to come on over and see what Sweden is like,” Mikael said of George and Jeri. “We’ve been back here visiting a few times, every now and then, and we have traveled to other places where we’ve met up, so I’m just thrilled to keep the relationship healthy and strong.”

 The last time Mikel visited Weiser was nine years ago, when his two children were very young. At that time, Stella and Tuva were 3 and 1, respectively.

 “The kids were small,” said Mikael, whose wife Karin also made the trip. “Now they are growing up, them being 12 and 10, and they can experience things, so we did a stop on over here.”

 Before arriving in Weiser, however, the family spent time in New York City where they took in the sights, Mikael and Karin exposing their children to life outside their homeland.

 “We were there three or four days, just trying to show them the world,” Mikael said. “I consider that such a value, and to be able to travel and reconnect with George and Jeri, to keep those ties strong, that’s what brings us here this time. It’s been wonderful.”

 As a Weiser High School student, Mikel resolved to open himself up to every opportunity he could, participating in cross-country in the fall and track in the spring. 

 He signed up for drama with Blake Coats who was also involved with Weiser Little Theater, earning lead roles in the group’s fall production of “Arsenic and Old Lace” and “The Importance of Being Earnest” in the spring.

 Additionally, he tried his hand at journalism, covering girls’ volleyball and basketball games, which included taking photos and interviewing coaches. 

 Years later, when he returned to Weiser to visit, he played lead roles in “On Golden Pond” and “Over the River and Through the Woods.”

 “There is just something about being on the stage,” said Mikael, who previously had no acting experience. “Everything happens there, and you have the audience, and you can tell if they are liking it or not liking it. It was lots of fun and also a good picture of what is going on in a small town. Just that I was welcome to join them and participate and have a role in their plays; that was brilliant. On stage, everything has to be happening right here, right now, and you have to do the right thing, which I would say connects pretty much to what I do being on the radio.”

 Mikael is a broadcast journalist in his hometown of Stockholm where he hosts a morning news show.

 “I do all kinds of current affairs and national news, and our top politicians come by, and I do interviews and all that stuff,” he said. “It’s a very interesting and fun job, meeting lots of different people. That’s what I appreciate most; you get to see what others are doing and question why they are doing it and hear their views on the world.”

 That’s Mikael’s mindset, opening himself up to new experiences and expanding his perspective beyond borders. He said his time in the United States validated what he has always understood and assumed, beginning with New York City.

“What a first impression,” he said. “It kind of confirmed that I see the United States truly a country of possibilities. You can really tell people are able to do things here. I love sports engagement in a small town like Weiser because that’s something we don’t have as much in Sweden where sports are done more in sports clubs. Here, it is so tied to the community, which makes for a very good, strong community feeling, community friendship; the community just grows together.”

 One of his most vivid memories, he said, was the first high school football game he attended at Roy Dickerson Memorial Field.

 “It was amazing; it was like being in one of the movies,” Mikael said. “I mean, like one of the Hollywood movies. Walking down the streets of New York was pretty much the same … this is the real America and the first football game, I loved it. It was the feeling, the whole atmosphere around a game like that, with the community coming together to support their team. There was a lot of energy and I remember those late August, September nights, hot evenings, still warm, but it gets dark, and then the big bleachers, the lights coming on, and it was very nice.”

 Mikael, who said he ate plenty of hamburgers and hotdogs, said he will never forget his time in Weiser.

 “The whole experience was so great and, actually, it’s still part of my life every day, even though it’s been 23 years because it just added so much to who I am, what I do, and how I look at the world,” he said. “Sometimes I think, ‘Ok, how would Weiser look at something like this?’ and you always keep that in mind because you realize the world is not just your bubble back home, especially the way the world has become today with social media. It’s very easy to get stuck in your own bubble … to me, it’s kind of scary because it narrows our world down to something very small.

 “If you go to different places and meet different people – and you don’t have to share the same beliefs or values – you see other ways of living and other ways of viewing life. It makes your own life richer and even if we agree to disagree, you might still see, ‘Ok, that’s why this is happening here or over there, and that adds a lot more to my life.’”