The Excellence Center Reviews

The Excellence Center is an excellent place to learn about the occupation in Palestine and to get to know the Palestinian people. I met so many people in my month here, I felt safe and taken care of every step of the way, and I am leaving with a full heart and so much on the ground knowledge of the situation here. The experiences you will have vary widely, and really give you a sense of the scope of the issues. You also have time on your own to wander and engage in the city. After one month here, all of the staff feel like family! I would happily come back again, as I feel there is no end to what I can learn here.

I loved that it was so flexible and that you could bring your own ideas and wishes up what you want to do. I met great people with interstings stories to share, not only from the healthcare system but also other people from Hebron. And it was nice to spend so much time with the other volunteers as well (breakfasts together and them joining the activities). I think or this kind of programm (without teaching English) two weeks are a good timespan, I was here one week and could easily stay another week.

I was here only for one week, but I liked it a lot. The people are very nice and helpful.
The classes are fun. I came here to get rid of my fear to speak Arabic. I know already a lot of words, but talking was difficult, but it is going better.
I enjoyed to be in Hebron. Went to the old city, alone or with my peers. It is easy to get from Hebron to Bethlehem and other cities. People are helpful and it safe walk around here and visit the cities. Eating out is easy, nice an cheap and you should do that :-)
It is fun to stay with a host family.

Introduction + the Palestinian People
I would like to preface this by saying I visited the Excellence Center in Hebron for three weeks from Dec 2022 to Jan 2023. I am in the last year of my college and came from the USA to study colloquial Palestinian Arabic. Upon arrival to Hebron, I was extremely shaken up from the intimidation, inconvenience, and blatant racism I faced at the hands of the Israeli border control since I am of Muslim and South Asian origin. However, it was absolutely astonishing how my feelings and mood changed as soon as I arrived to my hosts' home. The family had stayed up hours waiting for me to come from the airport and I quite frankly have never been treated better by anybody. They were incredibly caring and wonderful during the entire three weeks I stayed with them and truly made me feel like I was a part of the family. One thing many volunteers like myself have noticed about the Palestinian people (from host families to shopkeepers to people you run into on the street) is how remarkably kind, generous, and welcoming they are despite language and global barriers. I have had teens chase me down to give me my cellphone I had accidentally left, to being walked to 3 different banks by a local man to make sure I was able to take out money from a working ATM, to my Arabic teacher from the center getting me a chocolate I had once mentioned I always wanted to try, to many other instances where Palestinians have gone out of their way to be so kind and helpful to me. I have truly never experienced anything like it ever, especially coming from quite a generous background myself. Despite the hassle at the airport that prevents many people from visiting Palestine, the experience I had in Palestine was 100000% worth it and overshadowed the negative inconvenience and intimidation at the israeli airport . It is the Palestinian people that truly make me yearn to visit again.

The Center
My Arabic teacher Mariam was incredibly kind and patient. Her lessons were thoroughly planned and organized. She also asked if there was anything specific I wanted to learn and loved hearing my thoughts and opinions on different things. The 3.5 hours of class did not simply consist of us doing the same thing. She would switch it up to keep me engaged. Homework was also not overwhelming and would reinforce what we learned in class. The other teachers Doha and Saja were also very fun to be around and often took me and the other volunteers out to restaurant, spas, shopping, and anywhere else we wanted to go. The center also organized trips for students to understand the reality of the occupation which were all very insightful. The center is quite unstructured so you might not know what you will be doing until the day of. If there is something specific you want to do for the center or have an idea, reach out to the center in advance with your plan. You do have a lot of free time to yourself though so it is not too intense and overwhelming.

Traveling
It is pretty easy to get around Hebron. Everything I needed was walking distant from the center and my hosts' house. Going to different cities with the shared taxis and buses was also very affordable and easy. If there is anywhere specific you want to go or need help planning a trip, you can just ask the center and they will gladly help you figure it out. Many of us volunteers from the center would also plan trips and outtings together which was nice.

Food
Food in Hebron is cheap as well. It also tastes very fresh and is relatively healthy. There are a lot of authentic places for Middle Eastern cuisine as well as pizza, burgers, juice and smoothie shops, bakeries, and cafes. All the food I had in Hebron was delicious. Most Palestinian cuisine does have meat and dairy so if you are vegetarian or vegan, just let your host family know.

Safety
I felt very safe walking around in Palestine especially as a young international female who had a limited understanding of Arabic. If you get lost or need directions, almost any local will be glad to help you. Many people also speak English.

I am really glad I found out about this opportunity. There are not many places like this that allow people my age to teach English and learn a critical language like Arabic. I think the center is a great place for cultural exchange and to develop cultural competency. The staff was very helpful and if I had a problem, I felt comfortable discussing it with them. I taught around 7-10 hours and received 2-3 hours of Arabic lessons a week.

My teacher, Muaz, introduced me to Arabic-speaking countries, the different dialects, and helped me learn the alphabet to be able to read some Arabic. I also learned some basic phrases and practiced them outside the center. He even took me to a falafel shop, and I learned about his experience as a refugee.

It was a really moving story. As for my English students, they were a range of ages from 8 to 32, some regular German students, others refugees from Ukraine/Syria. I really enjoyed listening to their experiences and understanding how Halle is an ideal place for those who have been displaced. Another thing that was great was that I had a lot of creativity with my classes and how I taught them; a majority of them were English conversation classes, but with my oldest student I had him give me a tour of Halle in English to practice it outside the classroom, and with my younger students I taught them the names of countries on different continents in English (a fun activity).

Most of the students come in with a good understanding of English grammar and vocabulary, but I wish I had been able to explain things about the English language that did not make sense to them (i.e. varied pronunciations). Here are some things I think would be helpful to know before you come: January is the quietest time of the year to come. I met two volunteers my first week, but was the only one left for the remainder of my time. There was nothing wrong with that, but sometimes I wish I could have done activities/traveled with other volunteers.

I think summer is the most ideal time to come. Another thing is that you may have to get your own dinner when living with a host family. Breakfast is covered at the center and then lunch/dinner are on your own. I think this was the most surprising thing for me because it had not been like that with other host families I had stayed with. I was able to eat with them on weekends but not weekdays because my host mom was not able to prepare as much food. I can understand this, but it was a little lonely eating dinner by myself in my room. However, the family I stayed with was very nice and the younger sister gave me my own room.

So, I think if you are going to stay with a host family, just know that it might only just be for accommodation purposes, and it is up to you to interact with the family and feel included. I wish I had practiced my Arabic with them more often and had been less shy, but towards the end I started to feel less isolated. It takes time to adjust to being in a new country, and just when you starting making friends and feeling settled, you have to leave.

This was a positive experience and I hope to return to Halle in the summer. Thank you Rafat, Radwan, and Muaz for this unique experience.

P.S. You get bonus points if you can make Radwan smile :)

Studying Human Rights at The Excellence Center was a fantastic experience, lead by thoughtful, dedicated and organized people. I found Palestine safe, stimulating and educational, and the center itself to be accommodating, with well thought out programming and excellent teachers. Osama and Marwa have created an incredible environment, and went out of their way to ensure that I and everybody had their needs met. And the food is something I miss daily! I look forward to going back! 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I lived for 4 weeks with a host family. It was really nice to learn from their daily life. It was really nice to have breakfast everyday with the other volunteers, because you learn a lot from spending time with people from all over the world.

The thing i liked the most was that every trip we did in and outside Hebron,we learned a lot about the political situation. Very eye opening.

Teaching at the refugeecamp was a good experience, because you really get to know the local people. We went everywhere with the shared taxi. They are very quick and take you thru every little villiage. Traveling here felt safe, also because the nice local people. They help you find your way thru the country.

I lived for 4 weeks with a host family. It was really nice to learn from their daily life. It was really nice to have breakfast everyday with the other volunteers, because you learn a lot from spending time with people from all over the world.

The thing i liked the most was that every trip we did in and outside Hebron,we learned a lot about the political situation. Very eye opening.

Teaching at the refugeecamp was a good experience, because you really get to know the local people. We went everywhere with the shared taxi. They are very quick and take you thru every little villiage. Traveling here felt safe, also because the nice local people. They help you find your way thru the country.

It was a very unique expierence because we got to see a totally different country than we would have as tourists. We spend a lot of time talking with Palestinians which was really interesting to hear the stories from the people themselves in stead of in the media. I enjoyed the Arabic lessons so we are able to make smalltalk with other people our age in this country.
The Excellence Center gave us a totally different picture of Palestine than I am used to see in the media. They also gave us a lot of chances to see a lot of the country which was really great.
I met a lot of very nice international people here and I hope to come back soon to Palestine.

Hello! My name is Michael and I’m from the UK. I’ve been here at the Excellence Center for 3 months, doing a variety of different programs.

For the first month I did the ‘volunteering with Palestinian children’ program. This included providing English lessons at the Center to children of all ages, as well as visiting a number of local schools. I also visited other educational centres and refugee camps in the surrounding Hebron area, providing English lessons to students. This experience was so rewarding and the children of Palestine are absolutely amazing!

For the second month of my trip I completed 2 weeks of intensive Arabic, which allowed me to really practise and improve my Arabic, giving me the confidence to speak more with the local people. My teacher Saja has been amazing! I have really enjoyed my lessons. Saja has been very kind and supportive, making the lessons fun and engaging. She has helped me so much.

For the second month I also took part in the Human Rights Internship which has included visiting a variety of different places and organisations here in Hebron and the surrounding area to highlight the Human Rights situation for the Palestinian people. This has included a number of lectures about the history of Palestine and the current situation here in Hebron and the West Bank. I have visited the H2 area of the city and met a number of people and families living there who have told us about their daily lives lives, describing the difficulties of living in an Israeli controlled area. Some stories have been difficult to hear but seeing it with my own eyes has highlighted the importance of hearing and sharing their stories.

I have also visited places of historical importance, such as the old city and Ibrahimi Mosque and I have also met a number of individuals and organisations within Hebron such as schools for disabled children, the Hebron Center of Commerce, a law firm, hospitals, clinics, a radio station, a film production studio, a keffiyeh factory and refugee camps, that highlight the situation for Palestinians here in Hebron. In the surrounding Hebron area I have also visited Masafa Yatta, an area where Palestinian homes are at risk from demolition by the Israeli Government.

For my final month I mainly did the Human Rights internship, taking part in the activities described above as well as some teaching in local centres and refugee camps.

During the weekends I was able to travel to a number of different cities in the West Bank and Israel including Bethlehem, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Ramallah, Nazareth and Haifa. Palestine is amazing and beautiful! Being able to explore the country was wonderful.

I feel so safe in Hebron and the Palestinian people are the friendliest people I have ever met. During my time here I have lived in a flat with other male volunteers. The flat is nice, spacious and has all of the mod cons for a great stay.

I am a vegetarian, so although many local Palestinian dishes include meat, I was able find vegetarian food quite easily. Some of my favourite foods included falafel, hummus, fresh bread, a large variety of fruit and vegetables and salads.

The Excellence Center environment is so friendly and supportive. The staff have been amazing and supportive, listening to to any concerns you may have. When I wished to change my program slightly to incorporate more Human Rights, this was not a problem. The Center is also a great place to practise you Arabic in a supportive environment.

All of the volunteers at the Center have been from around the globe, so it has been so interesting and enjoyable to meet different people.

My lasting impression of Palestine is of a people who are so hospitable and kind. Despite the challenges of occupation, the people are wonderful. My experience has made me appreciate my life. Palestine is also so beautiful and I hope to return soon. Come to Palestine!