The Excellence Center Reviews

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY

My name is Sheila, 45 years, from Germany, more precisely from a little village called Glems, population 1200, located in the southwest of Germany. I would describe myself as blessed, very curious, young at heart, fearless and of course somehow charmingly crazy in my own way.

Then:
I quit running a hostel and being self-employed in January 2021.
During Covid I had a lot of time to think about myself, we all experienced that, even though I wasn´t inactive, I worked for friends´ businesses, did any kinds of office works, waitressing, cleaned up… and I figured out what I really love:
People, making people at least smile, helping, travelling and broadening my horizon.
At that time Afghanistan was the main subject in the news and I realized that I reacted emotionally strong to the stories of people who had to leave their country under fear of death…Refugees! THAT´S IT!
There are refugee-projects all over the world, most refugees need existential help and most refugees are from Arabic speaking countries – great, I always wanted to learn a totally different language and I always wanted to go on a language trip…

Now:
I´m sitting in the sunny front of the apartment that´s owned by the best Palestinian host family Marwa & Osama moved me to, sharing the apartment with an American Mormon beauty, writing about myself, Palestine and the Excellence Center after I spent 3 months from the 27th March until the 26th June 2022 as a totally changed person.
On the one hand I could write a book on every single day I had here and on the other hand the situations, experiences, and stories that happened here just make me speechless.
But one thing is for sure: I am a part of a lot of families now!

Excellence Center:
Marwa & Osama are the heart, Rafat is managing from Germany, with the lovely Khitam and the highly passionate teachers and of course some of their excellent family members at the Excellence Center.
I started with the Intensive Arabic Course, 20 hours per week of one-to-one lessons. The time I started there were not a lot of students, so I was lucky to have the one-to-one lessons as a total beginner starting Arabic from zero.
Nada, my teacher, is 23 years old, professional, structured and very patient. Her lessons were always prepared, she was very aware of my needs and my way of learning, flexible to adjust at any point of progress, so that I felt comfortable and successful. I love her!
After one month I changed into the Refugees Program.
That basically means teaching English (mostly to children), interviewing refugees, local people and different organizations about structures, economy, education, all-day-living, the issues, struggles and human rights violations caused by the occupation.
It then turned out that the Refugees Program became a mixture between the Refugees Program and the Human Rights Program that even surpassed my expectations.
I appreciated the flexibility of Osama. He had to deal with my individual expectations like
- I had never taught before at all,
- I didn’t want to teach children,
- I was interested in economic structures, education system, possibilities and solutions
He made it possible that I experienced all of it in a for me perfect way.
I taught adult refugees in the refugee camp, I had an English Club with teenage girls and I interviewed lawyers, teachers, activists against human right violation and children’s right violation, managers of different kinds of community centers etc.
I visited schools, kindergardens, the Hebron chamber of commerce, a Bedouin village and all the pride the Palestinian people have in trying to change the situation and seek freedom.
It was always possible to tell Osama about your interests or if you wanted to dive deeper into a subject, he is the one who helps you to meet with the right people.
Marwa organizes all the teachers, students, volunteers, internal workshops and meetings about teaching and studying in general, or presentations about the experiences of leaving students and volunteers. And Marwa is responsible for the host families and apartments. Besides that she teaches Arabic and she is a mother of the happiest one-year-old girl in the world. She leads the most unpredictable parts and I don’t know how she does it – huge respect!
She has to deal with a lot of sudden changes every day, literally everyone has different needs at different times, no structure, no red line, nothing to rely on… and guess:
She´s able to move mountains to make you happy. THANK YOU min albii!

All in one, the Excellence Center has a vibe that is very welcoming, warm and familiar. As I confirmed to Rafat 4 months ago, he sent a message with “Welcome to the family”.
Me as a German I just thought “yes standard – phrase, nice and polite”. Now I know better… I AM part of the family and it feels great!

Palestine:
Yes, it is there and it is real and it is existent!
Palestine is beautiful, authentic, lively, heartfelt, hospitable, resistant, religious, proud, safe, funny, mind- and life-changing and EXISTENT!

I recommend Hebron, I highly recommend the Excellence Center and I recommend the experiences you’ll just get here in Palestine!

As an English teacher you will have either one or two lessons per day. This can be one-on-one lessons or classes. The Center places a lot of trust in its teachers and you are really given an opportunity to bring your own benefits and styles.
Arabic lessons would be 90 minutes every day in the morning. There is a range of levels to suit you, and it they are either two or one-to-one and so very productive.

The Center is very accommodating to people of different backgrounds and skillsets. The fulltime staff here are welcoming, and the longer term volunteers become good friends with them and also amongst each other.

Regardless of your exact role, you will have the opportunity to go on visits organised by the Center to engage with local activists and learn more about the situation in Palestine.

The situation in Palestine and Hebron is extremely safe for foreign volunteers. Locals are hospitable and go out of their way to welcome you. This is helped by the good reputation the Center enjoys in the city. Do not let negative and false stereotypes stop you from coming here.

I had the time to visit Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nablus, Ramallah and other places - which I would recommend any volunteer to do.

My name is Carrie, and I’m from America. I am currently pursuing a degree in international relations, with focuses in political science and Spanish. While I was at the Excellence Center in Palestine I participated in the Human Rights Volunteer Program.

As part of the Human Rights Volunteer Program I met with local human rights organizations and activists, toured a number of areas in Palestine that are particularly relevant to human rights, and attended classes on the human rights situation in Palestine and the violations of international laws. All of the visits we did in the Human Rights Volunteer Program were incredibly interesting and informative, and they included a wide range of topics, like women’s and children’s rights. When I was not on visits for the program, I studied Arabic at the Excellence Center. My first few weeks of Arabic lessons were not the best, but the teaching staff at the Excellence Center made sure that I eventually found the right person to teach me. I did not learn as much Arabic as I would have liked to, but if I had been taught by my final teacher, Anas, the whole time I was at the Center, I know I would have learned so much more. Anas is truly an amazing Arabic teacher.

The staff at the Excellence Center are amazing; everyone that works here is incredibly kind and generous with their time and efforts. I also really enjoyed meeting and speaking with other international volunteers. Learning about the differences in perspectives and education in our respective countries was so interesting, especially when comparing what we knew coming into the program to what we have all learned during our time here in Palestine. Overall the Excellence Center has a nice, welcoming environment; it makes you want to stay longer.

When I was not at the Excellence Center, I was enjoying my time with my host family in Hebron. I have had an amazing experience with my host family. My host family has been so kind and welcoming to me, and I know that if I come back to Hebron I have a place to stay with them. I have visited relatives with them, had family dinners almost every night, and attended engagement celebrations and weddings with them. I love my family here in Hebron, and they represent the city so well. Everyone I have met in Hebron has been wonderful. I have stayed here for a month and I have heard “welcome to Hebron” while walking in the street at least once a day.

One of my favorite things to do while in Hebron is going to cafes with the volunteers at the center and with some local young people too. Occasionally we have stayed out well after dark, but I have not felt unsafe ever. Walking at night in public as a woman is something I would never do in the US, but I feel completely safe doing so in Hebron because everyone I meet is willing to help if I need it. Overall my favorite thing about Palestine in the people and the hospitality; you really have to experience it to understand. After being in Hebron for a few days I knew I would be back. I feel even more strongly about coming back to Hebron after a month of being here. I would absolutely recommend going to the Excellence Center in Hebron. It is an experience that I will cherish forever.

For the past three months, I have been participating in the teaching English and studying Arabic programme. I have learnt a lot of Arabic while here, as I arrived without knowledge of the language. My Arabic teacher was very good at working through the basics, from the alphabet and introducing myself. As well as learning in the classroom, living in Hebron and hanging out at the centre with the Palestinian teachers meant that I had more than just 3 hours of learning Arabic a week. It is the teachers and other volunteers that make the centre so special and why I had such a good three months, with everyone being so understanding and accommodating. Therefore, it is incredibly easy to make friends quickly, with Palestinians you’ll meet in the street and everyone at the centre.
During my time with the centre, I was able to visit most of Palestine, either on trips with the centre or with the other volunteers as we attempted to see as much of the beautiful country as we could. As well as being able to explore the city of Hebron with the Palestinian friends I had made or on tours with the centre. The fact that most of the major cities are fairly close means that it is very easy to explore the West Bank, either on your own or with the other volunteers. On my first weekend in Palestine, I was able to visit Ramallah to visit the museums there. Since then I have been able to see the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, the old city of Jerusalem, as well as the Dead Sea and ate Knafeh in Nablus.
Living in Hebron has been an amazing and interesting experience, particularly at the start. I began living in a shared apartment close to the centre and the main street in the city with three other volunteers. The apartment was fairly basic but quickly became home. When I arrived in March it was very cold, which was something that very few of the other volunteers had prepared for, so it was very welcome during our visit to the Dead Sea and when the temperature start to increase. In the last month of my trip, I moved to a shared dorm that I originally thought I’d be staying in and while it had a few issues, they were all quickly fixed. The shared dorm being closer to the downtown area of Hebron means that there is a lot more to do in the evening and most of my time not in the centre has been spent at a variety of coffee shops all over Hebron.
Despite some of the concerns that I may have had about safety before I arrived, they quickly subsided as I realised that the city is quite safe and the friendly and hospitable nature of everyone I have met has meant that I have quickly felt at home and safe walking through the streets at any time. There have been many times that I have felt much safer here in Hebron than I have late at night in London.
The best part of my time here in Palestine has been the people that I have met here, the Palestinians have been so incredibly nice and I was often invited to dinner and the volunteers that I have met here quickly became very good friends that I will remain in contact with. Overall my experience in Palestine has been outstanding and I highly recommend to everyone to come and experience it for themselves, the people, land and culture.

The Excellence Center's Summer Internship in Palestine is an incredible program for students, volunteers, teachers, or travelers to have the opportunity to learn about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict first hand. Moreover, the Center provides in depth Arabic instruction at your level. No matter if you are a beginner or almost to fluency, these teachers know how to teach you. I have experienced events and places I could not have imagined. I have interviewed and met with people hosting indescribable experiences. From refugee camps to the governor's office, I have notes upon notes filled in my notebook with valuable information. I will never forget meeting with a Palestinian woman who's husband was murdered by the IDF. Her testimony was one that gave me the chills and truly opened my eyes to what is truly happening on the ground here --- something unseen in western media.

The Palestinian people are what I will truly miss the most. Their hospitality and respect is incomparable. I was invited to multiple homes where I met amazing friends and have established my place in families all over Palestine. I have more brothers and sisters here than I ever will have in the United States.

This place is completely safe and I feel more safe in Palestine than I do in the streets of the United States. The people here look out for one another and protect their own. Living, learning, teaching, eating, and enjoying life with Palestinians make you apart of their family, and with that, you will be safe at all times.

This has been my greatest choice and experience. The Center is so flexible and catered to my every need. I am using this for university credit and university research and they set up the proper interviews, trips, and opportunities to research as much as I needed.

I will truly miss this place and these people. Inshallah I will come back.

I spent 3 months at the Excellence Centre in Hebron and had a great time, the local staff and volunteers that I met made the trip. While the accommodation is fairly basic, but any issues we had where fixed, and the city itself is very great place to stay and the centre provide a lot of support and are always flexible if you need to change anything about your program or time here. Teaching English was incredibly fulfilling and I learnt a lot of Arabic, both in the classes and when out meeting people.

I participated in the intensive Arabic program (1 on 1 for 3 weeks). I was nervous about doing 1-1 at first thinking we would hit some walls and have nothing to do, but it really was exactly the opposite. (Most) of the teachers are focused, dedicated, and will make sure the time is fully utilized, even in 1-1 lessons for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. If you are a more advanced student, its also great because you have the opportunity to even take tours in the old city in Arabic with your teacher if you do so choose. This really is an amazing, unique experience learning the language and being able to advance your arabic level while also learning from someone who has lived in Hebron their whole life and can share first-hand about their experience there. You will learn about Arabic, Palestinian life in Hebron, and maybe even yourself if you are lucky. :)

The Excellence Center is located in Hebron Palestine and really is easy to get to. From Ben Gurion airport, travel to Jerusalem and from Damascus Gate it is very easy to get affordable public transportation. I felt completely safe in Hebron and highly recommend other Arabic students or those who wish to volunteer and educate themselves on Palestinian issues to visit the center.

You will be included in the family there and there are many other foreigners present to help with any issues that arise at the center.

My experience at the excellent center has been nothing but amazing. The people working at the center are very welcoming and makes you feel like one of them immediately. Everything is very well organized and they care for you like family. The managers are very responsive and organize trips according to your interests which I found to be very nice. The families you stay in are also amazing and you get in touch with the local culture. The visits and trips we take together are very valuable for anyone interested in Palestine and the situation here.

I came to the Ecxellence Center to do the none-intensive Arabic program (2 hours per day) for almost 3 months. Studying Arabic, especially the Shami dialect, has been my project for a few years now, therefore I felt the need to expose myself to an Arabic speaking environment again. When I decided to go to Hebron, I got a lot of curious reactions from my Arabic friends who asked me, why I would go to the city, which is famous for its sometimes amusing called dialect. But during my time here I got to love that dialect, that in my opinion differs from the other regional dialects mainly in the expressive pronunciation of letters and words. For me that makes a lot of sense since the people here are as expressive as their way of speaking.

The hospitality of the people in Hebron is incredible, they are eager to welcome you in their life and in their culture. That ensures not only daily interesting conversations with a lot of new people but also the feeling of safety any day- or nighttime. Compared to other cities, European or Arabic, I felt very safe and positive, that there are always people around, who would love to help me with whatever concerns I would have.

During my time in Hebron, I spent a lot of my time in the Excellence Center, which provides next to the daily breakfast, classes and activities a nice place to just hang out and meet all the interesting people, both locals and foreigners, with their interesting stories and biographies. I gained a lot from the daily exchange of experiences, stories, thoughts and views and in addition to the instructive program planned out by the Center, the conversations to others helped me to reflect on my own experiences. The familiar atmosphere at the Center made it easy for me, to feel at home and to even build new friendships. The daily Arabic classes with my super competent teacher helped me to get the most out of my time here and improve my Arabic in a way I could never manage from home.

As a woman I lived with a host family, where I shared my room with another woman. In general, that ensures not only language practice but also an authentic experience on Palestinian hospitality and family life. Of course every family is different and living with one sometimes requires good communication about personal needs and boundaries. But the Excellence Center is very helpful when it comes to improving living conditions and I experienced, that they try their best to make us as comfortable as possible and respect our needs and wishes.

Spending time in Hebron, at the Excellence Center, is a great opportunity for gaining other perspectives, learning so much about a very relevant part of the world, meeting nice and interesting people, eating good food and improving the own ability to adapt to new circumstances and to learn more flexibility, for example when it comes to schedules. I can just recommend to everyone to go to Hebron, to see for him- or herself, to be curious and open minded, because the experience will be worth it.

The Excellence Center is located in Hebron Palestine and really is easy to get to. From Ben Gurion airport, travel to Jerusalem and from Damascus Gate it is very easy to get affordable public transportation. I felt completely safe in Hebron and highly recommend other Arabic students or those who wish to volunteer and educate themselves on Palestinian issues to visit the center.

You will be included in the family there and there are many other foreigners present to help with any issues that arise at the center.