Program Reviews

My experience was amazing! I've had so much fun with the other volunteer. The staff of the organisation has been really helpful and welcoming, making my stay here much nicer. I enjoyed the flexibility of the program here, allowing me to be able to appreciate the Palestinian culture even more. The city was very safe as well. The locals here were really friendly and ready to help me anytime I could. It was also really easy to travel to other cities in Palestine like Bethlehem and Jericho. Overall and really great experience.

I had a great experience studying Arabic at the Excellence Center. Everyone is extremely welcoming, and my Arabic improved a lot. I came in having studied previously in Amman, Jordan and with a high fluency level, but my instructor Mahmoud was able to push me and help me to improve, especially with the Hebron dialect. Outside of classes, I was able to learn more about the situation in Palestine and make plenty of new friendships and relationships. I was able to visit Nablus, Jenin, Jericho, Ramallah and the center was highly flexible with helping me move around my schedule and my classes. Highly recommend!

The excellence center is the physical embodiment of community. I was only there for a week, but I wish I had stayed longer. The staff is very friendly, welcoming, and helpful. I mainly worked with Ali, Muaz, and Rafat. Although I was only able to receive a few hours of Arabic, Ali was able to teach me how to greet, some basic phrases, and even took me out to learn how to order food in a restaurant setting. Muaz was a wonderful tour guide and answered all my questions about the migrant community in Halle for my research project as he is also involved in many other organizations in Halle. Rafat is the admirable leader of the excellence center as he ensures all are welcome into the center by making breakfast for everyone everyday, making schedules and accommodations, and organizing weekly community events like soccer(football) games and dinner. I am truly grateful for having had the opportunity to volunteer at the Excellence Center and making new friends!

The Excellence Center is more than an educational organization, it is the physical embodiment of community. I was only there for one week, but I wish I had stayed longer. The staff is incredibly welcoming, friendly, and helpful. I mainly worked with Rafat, Ali, and Muaz and they were more than happy to make me feel comfortable and at home. I only had a short time to learn Arabic, but Ali was able to teach me basic phrases and even took me out to teach me how to order food in a restaurant setting. Muaz was a wonderful tour guide and answered all the questions I had regarding the migrant community for my research project. Rafat exceeds as the leader of the center, as he even cooks breakfast for everyone every morning and organizes community events on Thursdays like soccer/football games and dinner. I am overall very grateful for having had the opportunity to volunteer at the Excellence Center and make new friends.

My name is Sean Montgomery. I am from Carson City Nevada USA. I came to Palestine to volunteer for the people in the refugee camps, mainly teaching English to the children. I chose the "Excellence Center" because I liked the program activities they outlined for me to do during my stay here. The accomodations and hospitality far exceeded what I was expecting and the locals that work here are absolutely amazingly beautiful people. From the day I arrived to my departure they assisted me with everything needed. The dinner parties and memories we've made together will stay with me many years. Lots of peace and quiet at the apartment and I was blessed with the most colorful and entertaining roommates. It was very hard to say goodbye.
I've spent a month in Palestine and had the pleasure to travel to most of the major cities. I visited many refugee camps and taught in many schools. The kids loving energy was always the highlight of my days. By far it's been the most spiritual experience I've had in all my travels throughout the world. Never before have I felt so welcome and loved by everyone here. I am not exaggerating when I say that I felt more safe here than I do in my own City which is only a small fraction of the population. I have never before been treated with more respect and kindness out of the hundreds I've met during my stay here.
Before arriving I knew very little about this country and its history. I thought I had an idea of the current war with israel. I had no idea whatsoever. The information provided to us by the news is so far away from the truth it makes me sick. I was so deeply Disturbed to see how these kindhesrted people have been treated for the past 70 years, it occasionally brought tears, not being able to control my emotions. I wore a rubber band around my wrist to "snap out of it". Just earlier today I was on a public transportation van or "Servise" and a total stranger sitting across from me introduced himself with a warm smile and invited me for dinner in his house. This has been very common during my stay here. I've had the pleasure to sit with at least a dozen families in their house. Always feeding me as much as I could eat, giving so much trust and hospitality to a total stranger. It rips me apart inside when I think of the many live recorded videos I've seen from phones in the hands of innocent civilians that have experienced so much loss and trauma, yet still somehow hold their faith high above the hatred that has infiltrated this country like a black plague. I will not name it for everyone knows who I'm talking about. I tried my best to forgive and understand but after my first week here I was given to dark thoughts of bias and negativity towards their oppressors. It was the Palestinians themselves that helped me let go of that darkness for the good of my own soul. Regardless of this ever encroaching occupation, these people with such a strong faith that embraces them with love, teaching them to love others, these people have grown very strong, resilient and beautiful in spite of it all. I came here thinking I would help feed them, teach them and lift their hearts to yet now looking back, I see they were the ones that fed and taught me. I am forever changed. I even converted to their religion of Islam. How could I not? After seeing what it's done for them and myself. The world is so very wrong about Palestine and the Muslim belief. I only hope to express my personal experiences to my countrymen when I get home and I will be returning here as soon as possible. Just the thought of leaving them feels like abandonment and has brought many tears. Living in a city with a population more than a million, continually getting lost and helped by the locals, They never once tried to harm or Rob me but they surely stole a piece of my heart. I will surely be returning soon.

I came to the Excellence Center in Halle, Germany as part of my Fund For Teachers fellowship, an educational grant that allowed me to create my own learning opportunity. I was seeking the stories of refugees to share with my students in an effort to personalize the realities of so many people across the world. The Center reflected all the ways we should approach one another, with welcome and respect in every greeting, email, gathering, lesson and presentation. It is a global community of volunteers and staff learning together and from one another. In group language lessons and one on one tutoring sessions, over breakfast, during a football game or activity, there were many opportunities to hear the stories of Serbia, Syria, Ukraine, and Palestine. I am honored to carry these stories to my students, to share the struggles and the joys, the strength, compassion and hopefully to build empathy for our global community. The Excellence Center made it possible for me to step into the lives of others for a short time and walk away with a lifetime experience. I want my students to understand that statistics do not tell the story of immigration. People do. By providing meaningful access to immigrant stories I hope my students will experience the common bonds that unite humanity despite our differences. Perhaps they will be inspired by the resilience demonstrated in the lives of immigrants as well as deepen their understanding of worldviews and the events around difficult, controversial times in history, I want to begin with the human story and be mindful of the real-world connections as this difficult historical moment may echo or have shaped the lives of my students as well.

The teaching style of the center is incredibly engaging, with history lessons embedded in the language acquisition experience. Student excursions to Syrian shops, tours of Halle, and Arabic exposure beyond the classroom has improved my conversational abilities and introduced me to phrases and sentiments I would not otherwise learn. I was also able to participate in an Eid festival, where I helped with face painting and balloon art for the children. The music, food, dancing, and conversation was beautiful, and I was greeted warmly by every individual. Furthermore, teaching English introduced me to new friends, who have been so kind. Together, we learned from each other, improving their English and my Arabic in mutually beneficial lessons. Teaching has improved my organizational skills and encouraged me to research and collaborate with my students to produce tailored, creative lesson plans. From music, to baking, to medical assessments, my lessons have been incredibly rewarding to produce.

I have formed friendships that I believe will last a lifetime. Thank you to the Excellence Center, for the memories and adventures I will carry with me. From football, to my flatmates, to cliff jumping, it has pushed me out of my comfort zone, and built my confidence.

Internship in Germany Program

My experience this summer at the Excellence Center in Europe has easily been one of the best decisions I have made in my lifetime. During my time at the Excellence Center, I volunteered to teach English and had German courses throughout each week. My students for English included refugees from Syria and Ukraine. The Excellence Center’s German courses and objectives for the refugee community in Halle initially attracted me to this program, however the necessity to travel alone to a place where I knew nobody kept me from immediately making the decision to apply. Through my experience, I’ve found that this internship is one of the best ways to acclimatize yourself to travelling alone. This is because the center almost always places you in housing where other people live, which gave me the chance to immediately bond with the other participants and get to know an unfamiliar city in a unique way. Also, the center’s daily routine is very structured, and during the week you always have a place to go in the morning for breakfast, conversation, and bonding. After breakfast, I felt that I had so much freedom to do work, complete tasks for the center, and lesson plan for students. Lesson planning for students was a special experience because I was given the opportunity to get to know students on a deeper level, and then tailor lessons to what they would like to get out of English language learning.
There is a huge sense of community at the Excellence Center, and the bonds I have made with volunteers and students are ones that will last a lifetime. The Center’s director and main teachers do an amazing job at fostering this sense of community. First, learning German at the Center was always fun and interactive with learning strategies such as creative games and improv. It’s different from papers and lectures, and more aimed at connecting with each other through a foreign language. Also, the Center’s weekly football games and cookouts gave us all a chance to unwind from the week and have fun with each other.
The immediate welcome, sense of safety, and care I felt from the Excellence Center was an irreplaceable feeling. I consider the city of Halle a new home, and because of this and the amazing people I’ve met, I will always look for this feeling in my future travels.

I was only at the Excellence Centre Europe for a very short period, but the time I did spend there had a huge impact on me.

There is a lot of time and energy invested in making the volunteers feel welcome, included and part of one big family. Which, as a solo traveller for the past 3 months, was something I really valued. Rafat cooks breakfast each morning and everyone is invited to sit in the park and join in the meal. There were also weekly football (soccer!) games and other activities organised, which were so much fun and a great way to connect with people. Everyone is friendly and willing to help each other out. The timetable is very relaxed and your schedule is flexible, which means you have plenty of time for sightseeing, socialising and exploring the area if you choose to do so.

I did the learn German, teach English program. There are some teaching guidelines provided, but resources are limited, so be prepared to get creative with your lessons! I highly recommend bringing your own lap top. Don't stress though, overall, your teaching and learning obligations are not onerous. The language teachers at the centre are knowledgeable and I found my German lessons to be beneficial. I liked the fact that you were encouraged to speak German and when you slipped into English, you were redirected back. It wasn't that you weren't "allowed" to speak English (I resorted to English a lot, especially if there was something I didn't understand or needed clarification on), but it was more that using the language that you were learning and hearing spoken was a better, more immersive way to learn. The students I taught already possessed some English foundations and had good conversational skills. In our lessons we focussed more on fine tuning pronunciation and building greater confidence with speaking.

Overall, I do highly recommend this program! Was the perfect balance between work, study and holiday.

Cannot thank Rafat, Dusan, Ali, Muaz and all the other staff and volunteers enough! Was a very memorable experience and something that will look great on my CV :).

Pros:
- Fun, friendly, welcoming atmosphere.
- Felt like one big family.
- Many weekly activities and social outings organised through the centre that you can get involved with.
- Delicious, authentic breakfast provided. Good kitchen facilities.
- Great location, close to public transport and city centre.
- Immersive language lessons.
- Flexible schedule.
- Clean, colourful and inviting working spaces. Lots of indoor plants and natural light.
- They take a lot of photos, so your memories and time at the centre is well documented.

Cons:
- My host family lived far away from the centre and I had to rely heavily on public transport each day. I didn't mind the commute, but felt restricted in terms of socialising with the others. Many of the other volunteers stayed in the city and were able to move more freely.
- Rafat's cooking was too delcious, I ate my bodyweight in hommus.
- Ali is too attractive for his own good.
- Dusan is so much of a gentleman that he makes everyone else look bad.
- Muaz has better hair than me.
- I only got to spend 2 weeks with these beautiful people.

My time at the Excellence Center was truly rewarding. It expanded my perspectives, improved my German, and enhanced my cultural understanding. I am so thankful for the experience. I was lucky to work with three amazing students: two teenagers from Syria and one adult from Ukraine. I helped them learn English, and though they were at varying levels, I still helped them on their journey to proficiency. They shared with me their stories and aspirations, and I wish the best for them in all of their future endeavors. The flexibility afforded by all of the Center staff makes the experience quite enjoyable. People are free to travel and see the sights, and as long as good communication is maintained, one’s schedule remains relatively amenable.
My language skills also improved! With three hours of German instruction per week, I gained a better understanding of the language and culture. Plus, my German skills came in handy when communicating with my students and the surrounding Halle community. I will definitely return to school next semester with a stronger grasp of the language.
I also met so many people from around the world! Who knew all of our paths would cross in Halle? Beginning every morning with a shared breakfast was such a special time. Gathering together over a meal is a surefire way to build community and share stories with one another. It is a great opportunity to chat with friends and meet new faces. Additionally, the weekly Center soccer games bring friendly competition and lots of laughter to our community (albeit with a few bruises on the legs). The community outside of the center is great, too. I was lucky enough to get to know many friendly international students from the local University who had plenty of fun stories and great tips to share. I hope to remain in contact with all of the wonderful folks I met here, and I hope to visit Halle again in the future!