Why Moving to a Country with a Language You Don’t Speak Is fun!

I was sitting alone at a table at Skövde Stadsbiblioteket (The City Library), focused on completing a lab report for a cell-biology course. It was early morning and the library wasn’t that crowded, so I was able to find myself a cozy nook next to a window. After about an hour of writing and researching, I leaned back, in need of a break, and let my eyes wander across the bookshelves surrounding me.

My gaze landed on a section filled with titles I instinctively started piecing together. “Den vilda naturens mysterier”—The Mysteries of Wild Nature. “Hästens anatomi och rörelse”—The Anatomy and Movement of Horses. “Från valp till hund”—From Puppy to Dog. I paused, realizing that I was actually understanding these Swedish titles without consciously translating every word. Just 6 months ago, the thought of doing so would have been impossible. And in that moment I had a fun little realization- that moving to country with a language you don’t speak is actually pretty fun!

But why is it fun? This isn’t about romanticizing struggle or pretending that language barriers don’t exist. Of course, not understanding the language of the place you live in comes with its fair share of frustrations, like awkward interactions and the occasional bureaucratic nightmare. But alongside those challenges comes an undeniable intellectual thrill.

Here are four reasons why I believe the experience is not just fun and interesting, but also intellectually and personally enriching.

1. The Smallest Victories Feel Like Major Accomplishments

Ordering coffee without having to switch to English. Understanding an announcement at a train station. Catching a phrase in the middle of a conversation between your Swedish friends. Laughing at a joke in a foreign language before it gets translated. These moments, which might seem mundane in your native tongue, feel like personal triumphs when you’re learning a new language.

It’s wild how your brain starts celebrating the little things- you start seeing progress not in grand achievements but in these small, everyday wins. And that’s an incredibly motivating way to approach learning in general, not just languages. And that makes the entire journey fun and exciting.

2. You Become Hyper-Aware of Language and Communication

When you don’t fully understand a language, you start relying on everything else—body language, tone, expressions, context clues. You realize that words are just one part of communication, and suddenly, even a simple conversation feels like decoding a puzzle. It makes you more observant, more patient, and honestly, a better communicator overall.

I learned this firsthand during my first month in Sweden. One rainy afternoon, when I was walking to a friends place, I saw an elderly woman struggling with her groceries in a stroller, completely uncovered from the rain. Without thinking, I walked over and shared my umbrella. That’s when I realized—she didn’t speak English, and my Swedish was barely functional. Still, we somehow managed. When she said something too complicated, I’d reply, “Förlåt, jag förstår inte. Jag lär mig svenska,” and she’d just smile.

Then, she asked if I was a student. How did I understand that? Well, I caught the word “student” in the middle of her sentence, and the phonetics made it clear she was asking a question. I replied, “Ja,” and she smiled even more. When we passed my apartment building, I pointed and said, “Jag bor där, I en studentlägenhet!” and she nodded warmly. No perfect sentences, no deep conversation, just two strangers understanding each other beyond words. Moments like that prove how much of communication isn’t about what you say—it’s how you say it.

3. It Forces You Out of Your Comfort Zone (In a Good Way)

There’s no hiding when you don’t speak the language. Every grocery store trip, every interaction with a stranger, every attempt to navigate official documents becomes an exercise in adaptability. At first, this can be intimidating. But over time, you realize that being outside your comfort zone is where growth happen.

You become more comfortable with trial and error. You develop patience with yourself. You stop fearing mistakes and start seeing them as part of the process. This mindset extends beyond language learning—it changes how you approach challenges in general.

4. You See Your Own Language in a New Light

Learning a new language has a way of making you reflect on your own in ways you never really did before. You start noticing grammatical structures, idioms, and cultural references that you’ve always taken for granted. Sometimes, when you’re struggling to translate something, you realize just how unique your native language—and your way of thinking—is.

For me, one of the most unexpected discoveries has been how many similarities there are between Swedish and my native language, Sinhala. The way questions are formed, the sentence order, even how negatives are added after a word—it’s been eye-opening. It’s not just about learning Swedish; it’s made me more aware of the structure and nuances of my own language. And that’s a fascinating realization!

Of course, none of this means that learning a new language is all sunshine and rainbows. There will be times when you feel utterly lost and frustrated by the simplest of interactions. There are days when you start to question your progress. But that’s all part of the process. It’s the flow of learning something new. The struggles make the victories sweeter, and the mistakes are just stepping stones to fluency.

So, while it might not always feel fun in the moment, looking back and seeing how far you’ve come is a pretty rewarding experience. Embrace the challenge, and you’ll find that the journey itself becomes a lot more exciting as you realize just how much you’ve grown along the way!