Program Reviews

I had an absolutely fantastic time in Hebron this year. It was my second time at the Excellence Center, and a testament to how amazing the people at this program are that I wanted to come back again. This year, I continued to teach English at the Center and I found it even more rewarding than my last stint teaching English. The students at the Center are amazingly kind, and passionate to learn and master English. The Center itself is clearly improving every year, and I can't wait to see how they will expand and continue to establish itself as a pillar of the Hebron community.

My name is Antoine, I was a volunteer at the Excellence Center in Halle for 3 months from mid April to mid July of 2023. I completed the 3 month internship program in teaching English and learning German. During this time I completed around 60 hours of German lessons and taught 5 different students at the centre.

The German lessons were altogether very intensive and helped me greatly as a beginner in German to improve greatly over a short period of time with my brilliant German teacher Muaz. The time taken to teach students at the centre in English was greatly enriching and rewarding seeing students of all ages and backgrounds gradually progressing across my time at the centre and developing friendships with them.

Additionally the Centre organises many activities outside of the learning space such as weekly football games and brunches for leaving volunteers. All of these activities add to the friendly and welcoming atmosphere at the centre created by the staff: Rafat, Radwan, Ali and Muaz.

The city of Halle is an interesting look into the long lasting effects of both the impact of the Soviet Occupation and East German government. The city offers a surprising amount of cultural diversity with the large immigrant population coming largely from Syria and Turkey, and although the city is not a hub of activity or entertainment its position near Leipzig and large parks make it a great summer destination.

The city is particularly attractive to younger volunteers, with over 20 000 students calling Halle home with the large Martin Luther University having its roots in Halle. Consequently I have met and made many lovely friends from all different corners of the world.

The accommodation provided by the centre was clean and perfectly usable, although I would be aware that having at least 1-2 roommates is common and thus is something to note if you are staying for an extended period of time. My only comment to the centre would be to include more interactions and activities interacting with the refugee community and refugee integration in the city, such as more tours of the NeuStadt (refugee dominated section of the city) and more interviews, discussions or presentations on the topic.

Ultimately my time in Halle was extremely impactful and life changing for myself due to the people I met and interacted with, an experience I would recommend to any young person attempting to experience an exciting and vibrant atmosphere.

Although I only visited for one week I learnt and saw so much. My host family and other Palestinians were so hospitable and welcoming. I felt safer in Hebron than I do in London. I was able to learn basic Arabic and to meet with a lawyer who discussed and taught me about the local judicial system. I had the opportunity to visit local refugee camps and to meet with incredible activists. I also had travel advice from the centre and was able to visit the Dead Sea and Bethlehem. Please do not let what you see on the media put you off of visiting. Palestine and it's citizens are wonderful.

I taught English and learned Arabic (not intensive) for one week. My schedule was very flexible and included various activities and excursions related to Human Rights which I requested. My host family made sure we are comfortable, happy and are having fun. My host family provided us with fun experiences which immersed us in the local culture. Safety was never an issue and always felt comfortable. At the centre, home and Hebron in general.

Cons:
- The only issue I had was regarding the transportation as I was sometimes (not always) charged 2x-5x the local rate. Overall each route within Hebron never exceeded 5 euros so it was still manageable. But please keep that in mind if you are commuting alone or with other foreigners.

Overall the locals are extremely kind, hospitable and welcoming. This was an eye opening experince

I only stayed for a week, but I feel like I really got to see life in Hebron firsthand. Every day was filled with meetings with human rights activists, discussions women's advocates and medical center directors, and tours of Hebron and the nearby al-Fawar refugee camp. My host family was incredibly welcoming (as was everyone else in Hebron), made us amazing Palestinian food, took us to meet all of their friends, and showed us their favorite cafes to hang out at. I was provided with a basic Arabic lesson so I could somewhat communicate with the residents of Hebron and my horribly accented Arabic was always met with excitement. Though I wish there were more opportunities to actually engage in volunteer work in Hebron, I was given the chance to teach an English lesson to teens which was extremely rewarding and gave me the opportunity to get the kids' perspectives on life in Hebron.

I loved my time at the Excellence Center. Everyone was so kind and hardworking to make the programs great for students, and it's a warm and welcoming environment. I loved meeting the local students I taught English to and participating in programs planned by the Center, like trips and informational tours. On weekends, students visited Bethlehem, Ein Gedi, the Dead Sea, Jerusalem, Nablus, Haifa, and other places in the country. The staff at the Excellence Center work above and beyond to make the international students feel comfortable and plan our schedules. On the first day I arrived, we got a tour of the old city and met local shopkeepers, who I was able to build real friendships with. The students at the Center immediately bond, and everyone has such an open and kind attitude. My semi-intensive Arabic courses were so good, and I very rapidly advanced my speaking, reading, and writing skills. The people of Hebron are incredibly hospitable, interesting, and friendly, and the city has such deep beauty even with the political oppression and difficulties it faces.

My 3 weeks at the Excellence Centre in Europe have been wonderful: it has allowed me to greatly improve my German, to widen my knowledge of refugee issues, and to meet great people from around the world.

The centre provided 3-4 1.5 hour German lessons for me and a small group of other students per week, which were consistently engaging, entertaining and educational. Despite coming from differing knowledge backgrounds and levels, we could all grow and bounce off each other, encouraged to stretch ourselves to new areas but without the pressure that comes from large classes. Furthermore, most lessons revolved around speaking practice which, although scary, was what I needed most - during my time here I have become far more comfortable and confident with using conversational German, furthered more through other volunteers sometimes joking and chatting in German in an inclusive way, meaning it was a true immersion into German and Germany which is exactly what I wanted.

My other main activity at the centre was teaching English; this is not an activity I had experience in. Despite initially feeling quite unsure as I was thrown into lessons without any guidance from the centre really, I quickly learnt how to lead a lesson, and as most are 1:1 tutoring, it is easy to tailor it to a student's needs. Teaching English definitely helped me to develop as a person, and it is something I intend to undertake again in future breaks from school, which is certainly galvanized by the eagerness and kindness of every single pupil I taught.

The atmosphere at the centre itself was by far the best part of my time here - being surrounded by the most friendly and outgoing people, from a range of backgrounds and experiences, undoubtedly made it the extremely fulfilling experience it has been. From the moment I arrived, everyone was inclusive, inviting me to social events outside of the centre and to explore Halle with them. Although the fact that schedules are mainly self-designed can lead to everyone coming and going during the day, the opportunity to all gather at breakfast every day (which was very delicious, and entirely vegetarian which was great for me!!) and joke and chat, really meant I began the day feeling uplifted. Despite a lack of events organised outside of teaching initially, in the second half of my stay this definitely picked up, and the hike we went on was a great opportunity to see more of Germany.

Halle itself is not necessarily the most thrilling city in Germany, but it provided everything I needed from it and I took the opportunity of having weekends off to see more of Germany, which Halle is well placed to facilitate. Halle does have some beautiful green spaces (some of which I annoyingly only discovered in my last couple days!), with the Peißnitz park being close enough to the centre that after work I often went with my friends to sit and chat, or even once to row down the river - incredibly entertaining. However, minus the art museum, there is not much to fill weekends with, so instead I visited Leipzig and Dresden for day trips and Berlin for a weekend with other volunteers from the centre - only an hour away!! The only issue I particularly had with Halle was that I was staying in Neustadt which was a 20 minute tram ride away - the tram system is very good and links the whole city but it did make it difficult to be flexible about meeting up with friends and there is an extra cost for transport which others staying in altstadt didn't experience. Yet, as I had another volunteer as a roommate, I was not alone in this, and I became very close with her which was lovely. The host family I was with were also very nice, and although mainly keeping themselves to themselves, they provided an extremely joyous atmosphere to arrive home to and it was a perfectly satisfactory base to stay in during my time in Halle.

Overall, my time at the Excellence Centre is an experience I will cherish - my only regret is not staying for longer. I greatly hope to stay in contact with the friends I have met here, and continue my learning of German to hopefully return to live here soon!

I began my time at the Excellence Center with a month of intensive Arabic classes, then began visiting local businesses and organizations and teaching English at the Center and in the villages surrounding Hebron. I had an outstanding Arabic teacher for my classes, and found that class time was spent productively. Because of this, as well as my engagement with the Khalili community, I made significant progress in learning the language.

The environment at the Center is warm and welcoming. Although in summer it became a bit hectic with the amount of international volunteers in attendance, the staff and teachers never failed in making me feel comfortable. The same goes for my host family. They made sure I was always provided for and never hungry. Although I lived a bit far from the Center, the family graciously provided daily transportation.

In my free time, I was also able to visit many places outside of Hebron, such as Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Jericho, and Nablus. My experiences in all these places were great, transportation to and from was fairly simple and well-priced, and I always felt safe… but to be honest, I was always happy to return to Hebron.

The best part of Palestine is the hospitality and genuine kindness of the people. Despite the obvious and less-than-ideal circumstances of the occupation, I have yet to meet a Palestinian who isn’t welcoming, honest, strong-willed and incredibly good-hearted. This is certainly the impression of Palestine I will take with me back home. I would definitely recommend spending time in Palestine, especially in al-Khalil, if you have the chance!

I stayed at the center for 1 month through their journalism and media program. The center gave me all the basic connections to be able to hit the ground running and spend my short time in palestine following my passion and exploring the realities of the occupation. If you want to discover the truth in palestine, this program will provide you with a variety of resources to get to work! Although the struggles of Palestinians in Al-Khalil and the west bank are a realilty witnessed daily, never did I feel unsafe in my surroundings. If you come here for a with good intentions and with respect, that will be what you will recieve. Palestinians have been the nicest and most hospitable people I have had the good fortune to meet and I'm thankful for the experiences we've shared.

My name is Sarah Anderson. I am currently finishing my bachelors degree in International and Global Studies at the Univeristy of Central Florida. This summer I decided to do a human rights internship in Hebron, Palestine with the Excellence Center. It has been an immersive and expansive experience. We did activities such as visiting the old city & important religious sites such as the Ibrahimi Mosque, visiting the refugee camps, & speaking with local educators, business owners and artists in the city of Hebron.
My Arabic lessons were very helpful and my teacher was very patient. I learned a lot in the time that I was here. During my trip I decided to stay with a Palestinian host family. They were so sweet and kind. They showed me around the city and local cafes. We also took a trip to Bethlehem. I felt right at home with my host family.
Before coming to Palestine I was very concerned about my safety, however after living here for a month those preconceived notions no longer exist. I felt extremely safe walking throughout Hebron during day and at night.
It’s one thing to the read and hear about Palestine but another to actually experience it.
From the history, to the people, to the land, weather and the food… I loved it all.
Palestine is truly a beautiful country filled with an immense amount of life, beauty, strength, and courage.
This experience will live in my heart forever and I intend to return to Palestine.
I highly recommend anyone who desires to experience & learn more about Palestine to join the Excellence Center.