The Excellence Center Reviews

I spent a week in Hebron and undertook several activities with the team in the Excellence Center. It was an amazing experience in which I taught English to children between the ages of 8-15. I was also able to immerse myself in the culture and met a lot of locals who were so welcoming. We were also able to see a lot of historical sites such as Al-Ibrahimi mosque and the old town. The team were always on hand to ensure we were comfortable and on our days off we visited Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

Our highlight of the trip was undoubtably staying with our host family who always cooked us Palestinian food such as Makluba and were so lovely to us. Palestine always felt very safe, there were always people around to ensure we were comfortable. After spending time here, we would definitely want to return due to the warm nature of the people and the beauty of this country. I would urge anyone who is considering to come to the Center to come as you will not regret it.

I am a medical student from London and decided to come to the center to learn more about the community in Hebron. At the center I taught english to children ranging from ages 10-17 whilst they also taught me lots of arabic! There were also 1-2-1 arabic sessions which were great. We visited the old town, Ibrahimi mosque and a refugee camp. My favourite was visiting the old town and all the trades men, who shared very insightful stories of their life in Hebron. The highlight of my stay has to be staying with my host family, they have been so welcoming and made Hebron feel like home. They taught me how to make traditional food such as Makluba which was lots of fun. Throughout my stay here I have felt safer than I have ever felt in London. I highly reccomend the Excellence center to anyone wanting to findout more about life in Hebron as well as learn lots of arabic. You won't regret it.

It has been an amazing experience. I joined many activities in the field of journalism such as meeting journalists, visiting radio stations, talking with scholars and professors...The arabic lessons have been very interesting as well.
Everyone is very nice both at the center and in the city. At the center there is a fantastic international environment engaging with palestinian culture.
During my experience I visited many cities in the West bank as Ramallah, Nablus and Bethlehem. I felt safe in all of them.
Palestine is a special place where people are always available and nice. Hospitality is their greatest quality.
I recommend everyone to come here, apart from the interest for the current situation, all the aspects of the culture are very interesting, I think everyone should come here at least once in life.

I’m Luca from the United Kingdom, and I participated in the Israel and Palestine in Context programme.

I’ve participated in extensive activities while here: I’ve taught English, visited refugee camps, hiked in the countryside, talked to lawyers, professors, students, government ministers, artists, and activists. I’ve explored Palestinian towns and cities like Hebron, Bethlehem, Jericho, Ramallah, and Nablus and visited Israeli settlements.

Everyone here at the Centre is truly accommodating and friendly, and the Arabic lessons have been fantastic. From having no Arabic whatsoever, I can understand rudimentary conversations and exchanges. I highly recommend the experience!

Palestine itself is stunning and has something for everyone. The dishes, like maqluba and mansaf, are delicious and the landscape is beautiful. Palestine itself, despite the news headlines, is incredibly safe. Have common sense, and be careful, and you’ll have no problems whatsoever. The Palestinian people are incredibly warm, accommodating, and curious to learn about you and your background.

Palestine will forever have a lasting and fond place in my heart, it’s absolutely unlike anywhere I’ve been, and I’ve loved every second here. It’s effortlessly interesting, and almost impossible to tune out – there’s always something going on in the streets or the Centre that catches your attention.

My experience at the Excellence Center has been very rewarding and transformative. As a volunteer, I had the opportunity to teach English to Ukrainian refugees. It was an incredible experience. Even though it was only a week I feel privileged to have been a part of their journey.

Additionally, my time at the Excellence Center allowed me to enhance my own language skills by learning German.I enjoyed the interactive classes and the opportunity to practice speaking with fellow volunteers. The center also provided comfortable and well-equipped accommodations. I had the pleasure of staying in a very nice room. I had the chance to meet people from diverse backgrounds. And made lots of new friends. The breakfast was delicious and a great time for all of us to get together.

I stayed at the center for only a week but it has been an unforgettable experience. Everyone is very friendly and very welcoming, there is a great atmosphere. Halle is also a great city with lots of different activities one can do. It is also nicely connected to other nice cities like Leipzig and Berlin that can also make a great day trip.

Being able to help by teaching English has been wonderful and it’s a nice way to give back to the community. Getting to talk with all the students and volunteers and listening to their own individual stories is a great way to open your mind and learn. I feel fortunate because we also get the opportunity to practice other languages like German.

I wish I could have stayed longer and definitely recommend the center to anyone who wants to help and gain new experiences.

Hi, my name is Dan, and I come from the UK. I study Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at the University of Oxford. I came to the Excellence Centre for three weeks to partake in the Human Rights Internship programme, as I have been interested in the occupation for a long time and really wanted to come and see the situation for myself.

During my time at the centre, I took part in many different activities- including presentations from human rights experts, visits to Palestinian homes and villages, trips to various organisations in Hebron, and fun group activities with the centre.

Upon arriving, I was given three days of Arabic lessons- I had a very limited background in Arabic, I just knew a few words and phrases- but the teaching was excellent and comprehensive, and even after just a few lessons, my Arabic improved a lot- and made me want to learn more! Another thing is that through speaking to the people of Hebron- I learnt more Arabic and found myself able to understand more of what people were saying to me.

The environment in the centre is so friendly and welcoming. When I first arrived, I was a bit overwhelmed with meeting so many new people- but after a day or two I found myself forming close friendships with people from all over the world and different backgrounds, and now I don’t want to leave! The staff are so nice and friendly, and if you have any issues or questions they are more than ready to help.

With the centre, I visited Fuwwar Refugee Camp, the Palestinian Polytechnic University, Masafer Yatta and Umm Al-Khair village, a Palestinian art exhibition, a blind school, the H2 zone of Hebron, the Old City, and took an amazing hike in the Halhul areal. On top of that, on the weekends I visited Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus, and Jerusalem- these cities are really nice to visit, and easy and cheap to get to- especially if you go in a group.

Living in Hebron was an amazing experience. I shared a nice apartment with a few other guys, not too far from the centre. The people here are SO hospitable and most of them love talking to foreigners, even though they don’t speak a lot of English. As a result, I have never felt unsafe in Hebron- it is such a friendly environment that there is never anything to worry about in terms of safety- we rarely lock our apartment door! The food here is incredible, the best shawarma and falafel in the world, for good prices- and there are some more traditional Palestinian dishes that I had the chance to try which were amazing- Maqluba was a standout for me. The weather in Palestine is HOT in the summer, but the evenings tend to be cool and when there is a breeze it is very pleasant. Something that surprised me about Palestine in general is the beautiful range of nature and physical environment- there are hills and valleys filled with greenery and beautiful-smelling olive trees.

One of the highlights for me was the hike in the Halhul area- the scenery was beautiful, the walk was long but rewarding, and then after the walk was done, we all sat down and ate together on the side of a hill overlooking the city- a beautiful view with beautiful people and beautiful food.

The programme has been so rewarding for me, and more than anything else I have just learnt so much! There is something really powerful about coming and seeing the situation for yourself- no amount of reading or research can replace that experience. I have fallen in love with Palestine, and I definitely want to come back to Hebron- hopefully with some more Arabic skills! I absolutely recommend the Excellence Centre to anyone who has any interest in the situation in Palestine, or even anyone who wants to learn Arabic- it’s an amazing place to do it.

"Welcome!", "What is your name?", "Where are you from?". It wouldn't feel like Hebron unless you heard these questions whilst walking around the city. It is one of the friendliest places I have traveled to.
My name is Jack and I live in London. I work for the UK Government having completed a degree in economics.

I spent six weeks at the Excellence Centre learning Arabic. Whilst I started as a complete
beginner, by the end I could have simple conversations in shops, cafes and taxis in addition to reading and writing in the Arabic script. The lessons were well structured and focussed on how to apply the Arabic language, rather than endless grammar. Our teacher was encouraging, engaging, and experienced.

The Centre supplemented our studies with various visits and trips, including visiting a family in the "H2" area of the city and to a refugee camp. The personal stories were very impactful and exposed the situation for Palestinians living under occupation. We also visited a nearby nature reserve where the peace, quiet and views of the countryside provided a great contrast to the bustling city centre.

Studying at the Excellence Centre provided the opportunity to meet people from across the globe and from all walks of life, but with the common intention of learning more about the history, culture and people of Palestine.

My favourite experience - albeit not a unique one in Palestine - was being invited to a family's house for dinner after meeting them on the bus from Bethlehem. As we arrived, huge plates of chicken and rice were brought out from the kitchen and we had a great afternoon eating, drinking coffee and practising our Arabic.

Hebron is a great place to stay. In addition to the friendly people and the huge range of cafes and restaurants, you will witness - first hand - the impact of the occupation on daily life in the city and hear myriad perspectives on how the situation could be improved.
Developing a small amount of knowledge on the complex history and political situation and taking it back to the UK is invaluable. It is also very straightforward to visit other cities from Hebron by bus or shared taxi: we spent weekends in Jericho, Bethlehem and Jerusalem.

In summary, I definitely recommend Palestine, Hebron and the Excellence Centre. My six weeks here has gone too quickly!

I’m Francesca and I’ve been studying intensive Arabic at the excellence centre for 6 weeks alongside my husband.
I had studied formal Arabic before arriving in Hebron - I took it as an extra module whilst completing my masters at SOAS university in London. However, 7 years has passed since I finished my masters so it’s safe to say I was a little rusty.
Our teacher was endlessly patient and encouraging, meaning within a couple of days I was already feeling confident enough to try talking to locals in the street. Our lessons were structured enough that our teacher made sure we covered all the basics of the language, but we also had the freedom to pick and choose additional topics to cover or specific areas of weakness we wanted to focus on.
Our lessons were primarily class room based but every so often we did a lesson ‘in action’ visiting various stores in Hebron to engage in dialogue with the local people (all under the watchful eye of our wonderful teacher!).
The excellence centre also took us on a number of trips where we learnt about the history of Hebron, the culture and, of course, the conflict with Israel. We were exposed to many different viewpoints during these trips which helped us to greatly expand our understanding of the situation.
My favourite trip was to a local nature reserve - Wadi Al Quff. It is only 15 minutes drive from the city and yet it feels like a world away. Our hike through the reserve was so peaceful and the scenery is so beautiful - far greener than I had expected! We were also able to visit a huge cave that’s within the reserve and get up close and personal with a local colony of bats. Our hike finished at the top of a hill where we were provided with a wonderful picnic to eat whilst watching the sunset.
During our time in Hebron we stayed with a wonderful host family. We shared an apartment with 3 other girls from the excellence centre but in the same building as our host family. We were able to use their beautiful garden, their swimming pool and practice Arabic with them.
Overall we felt so at home in Hebron. Never in my life have I been to a more friendly and welcoming city. Everyone wants to chat to you, invite you to visit their home, or offer help with anything you need. I will never forget the Hebron hospitality and I’m so sad to have to leave.

Inshallah we will return to Hebron and the excellence centre one day soon.

I spent three weeks at the Excellence Centre in July 2023. In these three weeks I gained invaluable experience teaching English as a second language, living in a new city and getting to know people from many different countries and backgrounds.
It was my first-time teaching English as a foreign language, so I was initially slightly unsure how to proceed with lessons and teaching, however the many resources provided by the centre were a great source of knowledge and inspiration. I could also ask other volunteers about their experiences and if they had any advice, and this was extremely helpful for me. Having a starting conversation with the learner was especially helpful, because it was good to know the language ability as well as any specific themes or topics the person wanted to work on. I taught two people in my three weeks, and it was very enjoyable because we covered a range of topics.
Additionally I had 9 hours of German lessons, which was a great opportunity to freshen up some things I had forgotten, learn some new vocabulary and get some practice speaking it.
Another aspect that really appealed to me was the diversity of people at the centre. It was really interesting to meet so many different people from different countries. Working with Ukrainian refugees and hearing their stories was also a very humbling experience as it put my “problems” at home into perspective. Everyone at the centre was extremely welcoming, friendly and social which made coming and settling into Halle very easy for me and the delicious breakfast we had four times a week was a really nice way to start the day.
Halle itself was a pleasant city to spend three weeks in. It was not too big so I did not feel in anyway overwhelmed. There were also enough shops, bars, and restaurants so I was able to go out with the other volunteers in the evenings as well as a weekly football match amongst the volunteers. Furthermore, I was also able to visit Leipzig and Dresden as they are very easy to reach.
Overall, I had a great few weeks at the Excellence centre and in Halle and would thoroughly recommend the programme to any person who wishes to gain TEFL experience in a new city.