Holger’s Danish dream came true
Nurse Holger Hampe-Hecht was ready to do anything to live in Denmark. Along with his husband, he left his job, house, and daily life near Nuremberg in Southern Germany to pursue the dream of a life with a good ‘work-life balance’. In less than two years, his dream has come true. They both learned Danish, secured permanent jobs, and bought a house and two dogs. The recipe for success has been determination and great colleagues who continuously corrected Holger’s Danish.
Holger Hampe-Hecht is happy that he attended the Official Danish Education at UCplus’ Language School in Ringkøbing, and he got lots of help and support from his two teachers, Frank Henneberg (right) and Carsten Lund Christensen (left).
Learning Danish was a necessity
Holger Hampe-Hecht settled in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality with his husband in December 2021, and after just six weeks, Holger landed his first job as a cleaning assistant. He couldn’t speak Danish yet, and as a trained surgical nurse, Holger preferred a nursing job, but he was ready to take it one step at a time.
Shortly after, Holger also started Danish lessons at UCplus’ Language School in Ringkøbing, and through his network at the Language School, he got a job in April 2022 as an assistant at Hvide Sande nursing home.
“I knew that if I wanted a job as a nurse, I had to be able to speak Danish properly. And at the nursing home, I started using simple sentences, which was a good start. Fortunately, I’m not shy, so I just talk. And I’ve been so grateful that people have corrected me, so I learned the right way and didn’t keep repeating my mistakes.”
Learning about Danish culture was an extra bonus
Holger quickly discovered that the lessons at the language school weren’t only about learning Danish grammar and pronunciation. There was also a focus on understanding Danish culture and how Danish society functions, which Holger found to be an extra bonus.
“The teachers have been really good, and I think we have worked with relevant and interesting topics. It’s important to gain a deeper understanding of how things work in the country you want to live in.”
It’s often said that Danish is hard to learn, but that wasn’t Holger’s experience. He found the first three to four months a bit tough, but because German and Danish have similarities with the same alphabet and some words that resemble each other, it didn’t take long to get started. And one of his teachers gave him advice that really helped him improve his reading comprehension.
“My teacher Karsten recommended that I start by reading books I had already read in German. And when I knew what the story was about, I could focus on learning new words.”
Friendly people and a good life
Overall, Holger and his husband have had a good experience settling in Denmark. Holger’s husband has a job, and now Holger has also landed his dream job as a nurse at Gødstrup Hospital. They are happy to be able to work and that Danish work life also gives them time for things other than work, something they felt they lacked while living in Germany. They spend their newfound free time outside, and they enjoy being close to the sea and beach, where they walk their two dogs, Ignaz, a French Bulldog, and Grace, an English Cocker Spaniel.
“We find Danes to be very friendly and relaxed, and we have a good life here.”
Learn Danish at UCplus
UCplus offers the three official Danish courses, which give you access to official tests and a good start in Denmark. The education is offered at 3 levels, each of which consists of 6 modules. You will be offered to start at exactly the level that suits the number of years of schooling you have and your qualifications.