The Excellence Center Reviews

I am Suzan, 33, from Belgium and a language teacher myself. I took a two weeks intensive Arabic class at the Excellence Center in Hebron. My teacher Maryam was great. We were just two students and both of us wanted the same: to practice and improve conversation skills in Levantine Arabic. Maryam did a wonderful job facilitating that, providing us with plentiful opportunities to speak and talk with each other.

In Hebron I lived with a host family that was very friendly and generous. They invited me and my roommates several times for dinner, to sit in the garden or just to talk.

I felt very safe in Hebron. I walked the streets alone during the day and at night and it was completely safe. Palestinian people are also very willing to help when you get lost or have a question.

During my weekends I visited Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem. It was amazing to see other parts of Palestine.

I was only in Palestine for a short time but it was a great experience. I talked to many Palestinians and learned a lot about their lives and how they live under Israeli occupation.

I would definitely recommend studying Arabic at the Excellence Center. And I hope to be back in Palestine sooner than later, inshallah.

My name is Tamara. I am passionate about languages, with a French mother, Arabic father and a love for the German language. I taught two young Iraqi boys: 9 year old Hamza and 11 year old Osama German in Merseburg. With the help of Salma who is a marvelous teacher, I really improved my reading and writing in classical Arabic. I had the most wonderful time- it was so fulfilling and the Excellence Centre community is so warm and welcoming that I truly felt as if I were part of a big wonderful family during the month of July. Rafaat has really succeeded in creating a tight-knit community, organizing evening events with effective ice breakers and even cooking his delicious specialities for us. I met the most remarkable people with incredibly touching stories and always looked forward to our morning gatherings at breakfast and Wednesday football matches. The Excellence Centre is truly an amazing place to be in. I would certainly recommend it to others and I know I will be returning next summer!

I was on the Volunteer Teaching English and Learning Arabic programme for two months at the Excellence Centre. Part of my activities involved assisting some of the local teachers at the centre. The local teachers would teach English grammar rules through Arabic, to ensure that students had a good foundation and understanding of the grammatical rules before I would begin a practice session with the students. This was a helpful experience as I came to the centre with little teaching experience, and I believe that this helped increase my confidence in the classroom. I also enjoyed learning Arabic, and Marwa was a fantastic teacher.
At the centre I was able to participate in some activities such as, a tour of the old town in Hebron, I got to visit Ibrahim Mosque. The centre also organised a trip to Dar Saba Monastery near Bethlehem. I got to meet many international people and local people during my time in Hebron and friendships were formed. During my time at the centre, I was able to visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Ramallah. I was able to see and do so much and it was an experience of a lifetime.
During my time in Hebron, I stayed with a host family. This was an interesting experience, as I could really experience Palestinian family life first hand. I would like to thank the excellence centre for everything they do, this is such a vital community centre for the people of Hebron and so many children, young people and foreigners benefit from the centre. Marwa, Osama and all the teachers at the centre do an amazing job. It’s clearly not just a ‘job’ for them, they genuinely care about what they do. I would like to thank them for all their help and support, and I hope to return in the

My name is Linnea, I am from Germany and I am working as a marketing manager.

I came to Palestine for participating in the human rights program and study Arabic. I spent in total six weeks in Hebron.

The human rights program mainly consists of various visits to different organizations, institutions and meeting people who live under occupation in Hebron. I really enjoyed the human rights program because it helps to get a better understanding of the political and societal situation in the West Bank and especially in Hebron. At some point, it is also very challenging to process all the information and especially when it comes to meeting people living under occupation and hearing about their daily life in Hebron.

What I liked the most about Palestine are the people! This is one of the most hospitable society I’ve ever been to. Everywhere you go people invite you for coffee or lunch and make you instantly feel like part of their family. Although adapting to a new surrounding is very challenging in the beginning, Palestinians make it easy for you to feel at home. This also applied to my host family: from the first moment I was part of the family and they were giving me space but also invited for lunch or diner and kept their door always open for me.
And also I felt that especially the kids are amazing in Palestine: so energetic, open, interested, kind and warm-hearted. I really enjoyed being part of this society!

During my time in Palestine I also had Arabic classes. My teacher was amazing because it was a great mixture of being challenged but still feeling very comfortable during the course. Every time I felt like I was learning something new and the classes were also a lot of fun and great memories!

Besides the program the center also organizes other activities such as having dinner together at the center or visit other places in the West Bank. It’s perfect for a change and to get to know the staff and other volunteers/internationals.

Regarding safety - I felt quite safe in Hebron. You can easily walk alone in the main areas during the day time and most of the people are very helpful and supportive. If you keep in mind several things such as not walking alone at night in quite areas or when alone, sitting in the back of a taxi then everything is fine. These are precautions you mostly take in any other city in the world.

I’d definitely recommend the human rights program if you’re interested in learning more about the situation of Palestinians. Although after some time it also becomes tough to mentally process everything you see, hear and experience.

For me it was a life changing experience as I could experience and learn about a completely different life and circumstances which really made me value and appreciate the freedom and equality I have back home!

Thank you for this great experience and keep on bringing people together 😊!

Hi everyone here is Carol from Switzerland. I’m a physiotherapist and I chose the Medicine & Healthcare Programme of the Excellence Center.
During my Programme at the EC I had the chance to visit some places in Hebron, as hospitals, refugee camps, and local organizations. I participated in some presentations about the Healthcare system and they gave me the opportunity to organize a workshop about health topics.
The Arabic lessons give me the chance to communicate in a certain way with my host family and the people around me. Of course practice in everyday life was helpful for learning new words and repeating the others. I also learned useful idioms for everyday life.
The time spent at the EC was instructive and interesting, all the staff of the center was very kind and of course the Arabic teacher too. Getting involved in this Programme led me the opportunity to get in touch with others International Volunteers, we had time to share our experiences and to taste the local life.
During my stay in Palestine, on my days off, I visited some places like Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Ramallah also with my host family. Travelling around Palestine and its nature was suggestive, I had the chance to admire its amazing sunsets on the houses rooftops and go through its beautiful hills.
Living in a host family was the best part of the experience. This gives me the chance to practice and learn Arabic every day and to have a full immersion in Hebron's culture. We spent a lot of time together, I learned how to cook some typical dishes, how to dance on particular occasions like graduation parties and how people in Hebron live their life. Palestinian people in general are very kind and they always try to help you in all the ways they know.
I had some reserve before leaving home but I never felt unsafe in Palestine in general. Traveling from Ben Gurion to Hebron was easier than my expectations and all the people I met were very polite and they made my trip more comfortable. I felt completely safe also in Hebron of course as in every other place in the world you have to pay attention especially to the traffic and how to cross the street.
I really enjoyed my time in Palestine. The food and the nature around were amazing, of course the food was my favourite thing.
Getting in touch with another culture can be harder than we think but for sure it is worth it and thanks to this experience I learned how to be patient and flexible. I would say that my time in Palestine was very interesting and changed my view, caused by the media, about this place. The Excellence Center gave me the chance to discover a beautiful place.
I recommend the Center to every person curious about life in Palestine and ready to learn some Arabic. The center offers you the occasion of fully living in this place.

I am a 20 year old guy with a South Korean nationality. My cultural background, however, is a mix of Latino, African, North American(USA), and east Asian. This is because I spent my school years traveling from continent to continent, following my Father’s work; born in Dubai, started pre-school in Florida, then Georgia(USA), California, S.Korea, Cameroon, and Chile, where I started and finished my high school. Now I live in the great state of Bremen, North-West Germany, where I am majoring in Computer Science with a minor in psychology.
My family was not the picture-perfect asian family. On the outside, both my parents were self-made, born into poverty but each found their way to become middle-class providers. But within our walls, arguments and family feuds were a constant. At one point, my sister, who is three years older than I, took charge of my growth, and I thank her every day of my life for her; if not for her, I would not be here today. My friends in high school were not the most caring nor the kindest people. I look back at those years and think if I had found a better group of people, I would not have been feeling so down for such a long time. When I got to college, things stayed the same. Same kind of friends, same kinds of activities, and so forth. But in the summer of 2022, I traveled. For the first time in my life, I traveled because I wanted to, and not because I was following my Father’s life or anyone else’s. I met people with extraordinary stories; from refugees escaping a war ravaging country to people who were kicked out of college for burning their dorms down. I heard their stories, told them mine, and I learned a lot about respecting and dealing with people.
In Halle, I joined the Excellence Center and met so many amazing people. I taught for the first time in my life. I had to re-learn English grammar, I had forgotten that things that came naturally for me had actual words for it; like prepositions and adverbs and conjunctions. I did not feel comfortable with the idea of teaching people anything, but I wanted to try it because of that exact reason. If I had not taught this summer, I doubt I would have ever done it in my life, and I am thankful for the people who made it possible for me to try new and uncomfortable things.
I learned German with Max. The first few classes were confusing and too fast-paced but towards the end, many people had left back to their home countries, and the class structure changed to a more small-talk oriented dialogue based class, which I enjoyed much more. I learned more in my last 3 classes than I did in the first “all”.
I met people who I took a lot from. Whether it was about immigration policies and perspectives of actual refugees or experiences of adoption. I listened to their stories and it has shaped my view of the world.
The Excellence Center is what you make of it. If your focus is to meet new people and learn a new language on the side, you can do that. If you want to learn a language intensively and meet new people on the side, you can do that too. There is no one holding your hand telling you what to do next, which was perfect for me because I am a bit spontaneous.
Halle is an extremely small city for me. Having lived in the capitals of all the countries I’ve been in, I did not know what to expect of Halle. But the experience of waving to people you know on the way to a restaurant or to teach a student is an amazing feeling.

Introduction
My name is Reuben, a 17-year old student from just outside London, England. Having studied languages at school for many years, I decided to visit Germany in order to practice my skills in a real-life setting. Volunteering at the Excellence Centre looked like the perfect opportunity to study German and explore Germany, whilst being able to give something back to local communities.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the centre, as the people provided an excellent atmosphere, the German classes were engaging, and I had a chance to try my hand as an English teacher. Through the centre I met people not only from different countries, but from entirely different cultures and backgrounds. Everyone had a story to share - which we did over communal breakfasts and trips to town. I’d thoroughly recommend spending a few weeks at the centre (I came for two weeks but now wish I did longer!). Use your weekends wisely - there’s so much to explore in the local area (such as going to the Harz region or visiting a city like Leipzig/Nuremberg/Dresden), but also great chances to socialise with your fellow volunteers. I can’t wait to have great experiences like this again in the future, and I’ll miss the people I met on this little adventure!

I am a 20 year old guy with a South Korean nationality. My cultural background, however, is a mix of Latino, African, North American(USA), and east Asian. This is because I spent my school years traveling from continent to continent, following my Father’s work; born in Dubai, started pre-school in Florida, then Georgia(USA), California, S.Korea, Cameroon, and Chile, where I started and finished my high school. Now I live in the great state of Bremen, North-West Germany, where I am majoring in Computer Science with a minor in psychology.
My family was not the picture-perfect asian family. On the outside, both my parents were self-made, born into poverty but each found their way to become middle-class providers. But within our walls, arguments and family feuds were a constant. At one point, my sister, who is three years older than I, took charge of my growth, and I thank her every day of my life for her; if not for her, I would not be here today. My friends in high school were not the most caring nor the kindest people. I look back at those years and think if I had found a better group of people, I would not have been feeling so down for such a long time. When I got to college, things stayed the same. Same kind of friends, same kinds of activities, and so forth. But in the summer of 2022, I traveled. For the first time in my life, I traveled because I wanted to, and not because I was following my Father’s life or anyone else’s. I met people with extraordinary stories; from refugees escaping a war ravaging country to people who were kicked out of college for burning their dorms down. I heard their stories, told them mine, and I learned a lot about respecting and dealing with people.
In Halle, I joined the Excellence Center and met so many amazing people. I taught for the first time in my life. I had to re-learn English grammar, I had forgotten that things that came naturally for me had actual words for it; like prepositions and adverbs and conjunctions. I did not feel comfortable with the idea of teaching people anything, but I wanted to try it because of that exact reason. If I had not taught this summer, I doubt I would have ever done it in my life, and I am thankful for the people who made it possible for me to try new and uncomfortable things.
I learned German with Max. The first few classes were confusing and too fast-paced but towards the end, many people had left back to their home countries, and the class structure changed to a more small-talk oriented dialogue based class, which I enjoyed much more. I learned more in my last 3 classes than I did in the first “all”.
I met people who I took a lot from. Whether it was about immigration policies and perspectives of actual refugees or experiences of adoption. I listened to their stories and it has shaped my view of the world.
The Excellence Center is what you make of it. If your focus is to meet new people and learn a new language on the side, you can do that. If you want to learn a language intensively and meet new people on the side, you can do that too. There is no one holding your hand telling you what to do next, which was perfect for me because I am a bit spontaneous.
Halle is an extremely small city for me. Having lived in the capitals of all the countries I’ve been in, I did not know what to expect of Halle. But the experience of waving to people you know on the way to a restaurant or to teach a student is an amazing feeling.

My name is William and I am from Canada. I spent one month at the Excellence Center doing the intensive Arabic program. This meant that for three and a half hours a day, from 08.30 to 12.00 I had lessons on 3miyyeh Arabic. I was in a group with one other boy who was at my level, and once he left it was essentially one-on-one lessons. I have found the lessons very helpful, as not only are we in the middle east but also the teachers know a lot on the subject and were always eager to supply words and materials outside the course. Inside the Center was a wonderful environment because everyone is there for similar reasons. It was a good environment to study, or even simply sit in the sun and talk about hat adventures we had been on.

After lessons I would often tag along with the other programs, and most often this meant going to refugee camps or visiting humanitarian groups inside of Hebron. Not only would we get lectures on a wide range of topics from experts, but also would have opportunities to go on trips around the West Bank. Most notably, we went on a trip to the Mar Saba Monastery as well as to Bethlehem. These more ‘fun’ trips were great for building up friendships with other students, with whom I am keeping in touch with after I leave.
On the weekends there is also easy access to the rest of the West Bank and Jordan by means of the service system. Jerusalem is only an hour away, and it’s not uncommon for people to arrange travel together. I personally went to Ramallah, Nablus, and Jerusalem with other students and had a wonderful time.
Hebron is a noisy but peaceful city. It doesn’t have quite the charm that Jerusalem or Bethlehem has, but because tourists are much more uncommon the people are welcoming and always eager to help. It’s not uncommon to be walking along the street when someone starts talking to you, then after a few hours you get invited to a wedding or some other function. Hebron is also quite a safe city, relatively speaking. While the traffic here is certainly dubious, I have never once felt in danger in H1, and even H2 is relatively safe so long as you handle yourself well.

I very strongly recommend the intensive Arabic program here at the Center to almost anyone, and I have had nothing but good experiences.

My name is Elizabeth and I’m a 21 year old college student from the United States. At
the Excellence Center, I participated in the Human Rights Program for two months. At my
university in the U.S., I study Arabic, Middle Eastern Culture, and Islam, but I also have taken
many courses about Palestinian literature, film, and history and am involved in Palestinian
activism with a group of students on my campus.
At the Excellence Center, I attended regular visits to companies, organizations,
government offices, and important cultural sites. Some of my favorite visits were to Hebron’s old
city, the UN OCHA office, and the Human Rights Defenders office. Became I am also interested
in Palestinian art, some of my other favorite visits were to various art studios around Hebron
where I was able to meet a wide variety of Palestinian artists including a painter, oud player,
glass worker, stop motion film-maker, and stone carver.
Along with site visits, I also received Arabic instruction every week and taught English in
Al-Fawwar Refugee Camp. I had previously studied Modern Standard Arabic for two years and
my lessons at the center allowed me to focus more on the spoken Palestinian dialect. Between
my Arabic lessons and living with a host family, I was able to pick up many new dialect words
and phrases. My Arabic teacher was also incredibly flexible and crafted our lessons around what
I already knew and what I wanted to learn. Teaching English also provided me with more
opportunities to practice my Arabic and I had a wonderful experience teaching my class of
middle schoolers for a few weeks.
The environment at the Excellence Center is very warm and welcoming. Every single
morning I was greeted by local students playing outside, teachers and volunteers hanging out on
the steps, and the staff working inside. Most days, once I was done with my responsibilities at
the center, I would find myself in a group of international volunteers and local staff members
alike on my way to a restaurant or cafe. Despite the large number of volunteers at the center
throughout the summer, I felt like the staff at the center were very attuned to my individual
needs. Osama made sure that I got to see everything I wanted to see in Hebron during my time at
the center and Marwa always made sure that I knew I could go to her with any problems that
might arise.
Outside of my time at the center, I spent weekends in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Ramallah,
Nablus, Jericho, and Jaffa. There was almost always a big group of volunteers heading
someplace for the weekend and people were always willing and eager to give hostel
recommendations and to share service rides. Each city in Palestine has its own unique character
and I definitely recommend trying to visit as many places as you can!
I felt very safe in Palestine. People here are very eager to help you, give you rides, and
invite you to their homes and I always felt safe accepting those things from people I had just met.
In fact, my other international friends and I often marveled at how safe we felt in situations that
we would normally avoid in our home countries. While I found Palestine to be a very safe place,
of course I do recommend that female volunteers retain the same levels of caution and wariness
that they would in any other country. I never walked home alone after dark, told my friends
where I was going, and texted them when I got home safe. As a foreign woman, you should
expect lots of attention from men and boys and should know that they will be much quicker to
speak to you than they are to local women. While I did receive unwanted attention, I never once
felt like I was in danger here in Palestine.
Living in Hebron and with a host family was a very positive experience. I spend Eid
al-Adha with my host family, went on a family vacation to Jericho, attended weddings and
graduation parties, and overall felt very included in local Palestinian life. I quickly felt like I was
part of the family and felt at home living with them. My host “mom” worked for the Hebron
Governorate and she was able to set up a meeting between the Excellence Center volunteers and
the governor of Hebron. Along with all of the fun activities that I joined with my host family, we
were also able to have many conversations about the occupation and the reality of life in
Palestine that were more in depth than any other conversations I had.
My favorite experiences from living in Palestine came from my friendship with a local
artist here in Hebron. We first visited his studio as a group from the center, but I was later able to
return to his studio to paint (we graffitied a bench that now lives in a shoe store in Hebron) and
he also introduced me to other Palestinian artists. I was even able to go with him to Bethlehem
for a competition between young Palestinian artists in the Banksy Walled Off Hotel where I met
Sliman Mansour. Another one of my favorite experiences was when I got to meet the rapper
Tamer Nafar, who I’ve researched for the past year, after a concert of his in Jaffa.
My overall experience at the Excellence Center was very positive. Through the
Excellence Center, I met wonderful people from Hebron and from all around the world. The
volunteers who come to the Excellence Center, while their backgrounds are wildly diverse, come
with a shared set of values and a shared commitment to the Palestinian cause. The staff at the
Excellence Center are also incredible and I made many friends among staff members here. I
learned so much about the occupation and the human rights situation here through lectures and
visits that the Excellence Center organized. I would certainly recommend the Excellence Center
to anyone who was interested in visiting Palestine and I absolutely loved my time here.
After two months in Palestine, I am still astounded by the overwhelming kindness and
generosity of the people here despite the realities of the occupation. I stood in the wreckage of
demolished homes, watched IDF soldiers confront my friends, and spoke to many people whose
family members have been killed. Still, the kindness of people in Hebron does not waver. I will
always be in awe of the resilient spirit here, whether it manifests itself as a commitment to teach
English to a younger generation, a dedication to documenting and disseminating events that take
place here, or the creation of profound and beautiful art