Swedish entourage visits Sleepy Eye

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- Swedish foreign exchange student Erik Unosson got a slice of home Feb. 10 when his mother, sister, and girl friend arrived in Sleepy Eye to visit him.

Erik arrived in Sleepy Eye last August. He is staying with the Janet and Jay Haugen family.

Erik and the Haugens have been showing the Swedes around Sleepy Eye since they arrived. They will stay there for two weeks.

"It's more fun to show them instead of just telling them," Erik said. "It's great here. A nice community. Everybody is very friendly."

Erik enjoyed watching the Sleepy Eye Indian football team last fall. He never played basketball before, but he is on the varsity basketball team. Late in games, fans often chant his name, hoping he will enter the game. If he scores, fans erupt. He is thinking about joining the Sleepy Eye Unified track team this spring.

Erik also enjoys being a member of the Sleepy Eye Mock Trial team. His winter classes include theater, economics, and college trigonometry.

Unosson will repeat his senior year of high school next year in Sweden. He is unsure what he will study in college.

Erik's hobbies are skateboarding, snow boarding, and playing the drums. He tried snow boarding on the "small hills" at Mount Kato. He is more accustomed to snow boarding on Swedish mountains.

The Unossons are skiing at Lutsen this weekend. Erik hopes to get some "real" skiing done while his girl friend and sister will do some snow boarding. His mother is a cross country skier.

They will visit relatives in St. Peter and tour the Twin Cities including the Mall of America later this week. They shopped in New Ulm and Mankato last week.

Kajs-Marie Unosson, a social worker, works with disabled children and counsels their families. This year, the Swedish winter -- like Minnesota -- is milder than usual with little snow and lots of rain.

She is thrilled to be here.

"It's great to be here and see Erik and his family," his mother said. "New Ulm was a pretty town. It was quite European with its German influence, especially the Glockenspiel."

Erik tried half-piping and thought it was really hard.

"They really get air in the half pipe. It's a bit too challenging for me," he admitted.

His sister Klara, a high school junior, doesn't plan to be an exchange student but is thinking about working as an au pair (foreign visitor that takes care of small children in exchange for room and board).

High school students in Sweden have less classes to chose from than American students.

Prior to their sophomore year in high school, Swedish students are placed in programs of study based on science or language for their final three years of high school.

Swedish high schools have open campuses. Students can go up town between classes. They don't get detention for missing a class.

There are no high school athletics in Sweden. Students compete at athletic clubs.

"Sports are really big here in high school, much more so than in Sweden," Erik said.

Swedish television doesn't have as many choices as America. Erik enjoyed watching American shows like "Allie McBeal," "The X-Files," "That 70s Show," and "Opra Winfrey."

Most movies shown in Sweden come from America. A small number are produced in France and Italy.

Food choices are much better in American than in Sweden. There isn't near the choice of cereals or soft drinks there, compared to the U.S.

Swedish coffee is more popular to drink among Swedish adolescents, compared to America.