Karen Van Hove talks about the language course

Karen Van Hove moved from Belgium to the small village of Åberga outside Orsa in Dalarna with her family in 2022. "In the language course you not only learn the language, you also learn about Swedish habbits, culture and history", says Karen.

What did you think of the language course?

– I thought the language course was very good. I never thought I would be able to  pass the C1 level without prior knowledge, but I managed it in 22 weeks. It was very intense. Having 6 hours of lessons every day and also 2 hours of homework. Tough! Additionally your household goes on as usual, and we have three children who were in the middle of the immigration process and were learning Swedish. Then you have the daily bus trip to and from Falun. I remember when I started, I was so afraid I wouldn't make it. But looking back now, the fear was unnecessary.

Karen Van Hove at work.

– In the language course, you don´t just learn the language. Also Swedish habits, culture and history. And of course they tried to explain Swedish healthcare through guest lecturers. During the internship days, you do your internship at your own workplace. In that way you come into contact with your colleagues, but also with their work habits/routines. It can be very different from what you are used to. When you then return to class, you have time to share your experiences with the group. That way you could hear that your classmates sometimes had the same experiences as you. It gave a reassuring feeling and strengthened the group feeling.

– I found the group feeling in the class important during the course. We were all in the same situation and hearing that they experienced or felt the same thing as I did calmed me. Like when you had to wait a long time for your personal number or ID, applying for documents in your home country, taking out insurance, the stress of passing the C1 level. We also gave each other tips and shared experiences to help each other. It could be anything from a contact person at the bank to sharing notes or summaries. As you´ll notice, the language course was much more than a regular language course. I would call it an integration course.

How has your Swedish progressed after the course?

– My feeling tells me that I still have a lot to learn and that my Swedish is sometimes dreadful. But if I believe my colleagues or other acquaintances it's going very well. Most of them are a bit surprised that I've only been living in Sweden for barely 1.5 years. 90 percent of the time, I can make myself understood in Swedish with the help of body language or by paraphrasing a word or feeling. It gets difficult when I'm tired, like after a night shift. Then I have less concentration, and it shows that I don´t use the language unconsciously yet. But I'm still learning daily from colleagues, which sometimes leads to very funny moments. Even my children help me. They correct my Swedish at home. They are now the experts in our family. I'm so proud of them for being perfectly bilingual now, and this in such a short time.

What is difficult about the language?

– On a grammatical level, I find plural forms and the definite or indefinite article difficult. But also the pronunciation of certain words where letters aren't pronounced. You Swedes are good at that. When it comes to pronunciation, I also have to mention older people who speak with a dialect or don't have their teeth in. Then it's difficult to understand them.

– Expressing one's feeling or intentions/desires isn't easy during a conversation either. Often, you can't really put it into words the way you would like to. It requires time and patience from both yourself and your conversation partner because you have to explain it with several detours or words. And sometimes it's difficult. Especially in an urgent situation or when time is short.

What has happened in your life since the course?

– It's a lot… where should I start? My application for my legitimation came first. Unfortunately, the bureaucracy in Sweden is as bad or worse than in Belgium. So it took a few weeks to months before I got my legitimation as a specialist nurse. Meanwhile, my husband found a job as a butcher. The first weeks were about getting used to the new work routine. This, combined with our daughters' hobbies. We thought it was important as parents for them to feel at home as quickly as possible and let them continue with some hobbies they already did in Belgium, like music school, gymnastics and ballet. But it also gave us the opportunity to get to know other parents. So our social network grew. I even met an old classmate from Belgium who lives nearby. The world is small!

– The search for a house had already begun during the language course but became more active afterward. Colleagues helped in this search, and in April 2023 we bought our dream house. Halfway through June, we got the keys and moved to our beautiful, large old farmhouse with a fantastic view. With a farmhouse come animals, so our family grew with some chickens, rabbits, quails and ducks. We not only had space and room to keep animals but since December 2023 my husband runs a bed and breakfast in our house. A dream come true for him. Our bed and breakfast already regularly welcomes guests from different countries like Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Italy, but also from Sweden. It's fun to welcome guests and make them more familiar with the beautiful Dalarna.

– Both my husband and I are musicians, so music is a part of our lives. During the moving process, this was a bit sidelined, but now we have time to revive it.

Karen is takning a winterwalk on the ice.

How is work going?

– Work is going well. I've been working in the intensive care unit at Mora lasarett for a year now and I feel like my language skills are improving every day. It's my main area of work for the coming years. I'm starting to get to know the department's functions well and I've also found my place in the team. In the meantime I've also taken on some responsibilities in the department, such as CPR and the intensive care unit's new construction project. In the construction group, I had the opportunity to participate in visits to other hospitals. I found this very interesting to see how other healthcare facilities operate.

– I love being involved in thinking about how we will deliver care in 15 years, how healthcare has evolved by then, how we can create a better work environment. Above all, we want to increase the quality of care for the patient and do this in an efficient manner, in a good working environment, and together as a team.

How has life changed since you moved to Sweden?

– My husband and I have become much calmer. Even if it might not sound like it when you see all the activities. Nevertheless, we still have this feeling. We feel like we're on vacation every day. Maybe this feeling will disappear or decrease even more. I hope not because it gives a sense of peace.

– Through the immigration process, we as a family have also become closer. We spend much more time together than we did in Belgium, and the family is at the center. Going for walks together, skiing and ice skating, swimming in the lake, and having a barbecue. We discover new things together, which makes every day an adventure.

What are your plans for the future?

– To expand our bed and breakfast, to continue developing the Swedish language, to contribute to building up the quality of healthcare and the new intensive care building, to discover even more of the beautiful nature in Sweden, and to continue integrating ourselves into Sweden. A colleague told me about an expression: You're not a true Swede until you have the three Vs: a Villa, a Volvo, and a Vof (a dog). We're almost there.