They are a family of five, with three teenage boys, living in Delft for nearly three years along with their two french bulldogs and a black labrador. The Neskue family is originally from Arizona in the US and is always up for an adventure. Father Nathan: “We’ve traveled as a family to around 30 countries worldwide, with plans for many more. One thing that moving to the Netherlands has offered us is a much better work/life balance, and we’ve taken advantage of this by exploring new places every chance we get.”
The whole family worked hard to integrate into Dutch culture and to not restrict themselves to an expat bubble. They purchased a home in a Dutch neighborhood, their oldest now is nearly fluent in Dutch after being in the school system, and their middle son is at an A2 level in part because he plays on a Dutch baseball team (Neptunus). Nathan: “While we live much of our lives in Dutch culture, we’ve seen and felt the invisible barrier that comes with not being able to speak the language. And it doesn’t matter that all of our Dutch friends can speak English fluently, there will always be a social limit if you live somewhere and can’t speak, read, or write the language.”
This summer, it was time to really ‘go Dutch’ for the Eksues! The Language Institute TaalTaal in Scheveningen offers Dutch Immersion courses for various groups and they organize also tailor-made courses, for example for families. Nathan describes the course: “The intensity of the course is incredibly effective, and we learned far more in two weeks than we ever thought possible. We had tried several courses at other organizations, one with a private tutor and one as a standard weekly class. Neither was effective. TaalTaal was incredibly flexible and accommodated our needs at every step. The format of having a different teacher in the morning session and afternoon session was especially helpful, as each person had their own style and it helped our brains switch gears before they completely broke. It takes a village to raise a child, but it might also take a village to teach someone a new language!”
Nathan would encourage everyone, especially expats, to start learning as soon as they move to another country: “Even if it’s some basic vocabulary and a handful of phrases, and then a more intensive course once you’ve settled in. We are looking forward to the day we can have a full conversation with our friends in Dutch, go to the market and banter with the groentebroer, and finally read with confidence the occasional letter from the Gemeente!”
Are you and your family members also up for a Dutch challenge? Then go visit the TaalTaal website and find more details about the various language courses, starting in September: https://taaltaal.nl/course/dutch. Open Days are on 6th September and 9th September, online intakes are always available: https://taaltaal.nl/en/intake/.