My First Overseas Volunteer Experience

My name is Syazana and I am from Singapore. I am 20 years old and just recently graduated with a Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism. I participated in the program, Volunteer in Palestine for about a week.

I participated volunteering works such as assisting a teacher teaching for one of the classes conducted at the center, conducted my own English lesson with two other volunteers at a local school, and also learn basic Arabic Language. This was a first for me as I’ve never done any teaching before, what more to students of many ages which ranged from as young as 10 years old to as old as working adults. It was also an experience trying to teach them with our language barrier.

Learning the Arabic language here was also a great opportunity for me to be able to expand on my Arabic language knowledge. I learnt very minimal basic Arabic back in Singapore and thus being able to learn the dialect here was fun. I can even apply them practically in or out of the center with the locals here. However, it is quite sad that I only get to learn very basic Arabic here due to my short stay with the center.

The staff at the center are very friendly and nice. They’re always welcoming me by making tea and breakfast at the start of the day. Breakfast at the center is a great time to socialize with the staff and other international volunteers here. During my short stay here, I was able to make friends with 4 other volunteers from countries such as Mexico, America, and London. The students at the center are very enthusiastic as they are very keen to learn English. It is really fun to be able to teach the students here.

The center brings volunteers to places in Hebron such as the Old City, the Ibrahimi Mosque, and also a glass and ceramic factory. The Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque is one of the few tourist attraction in Hebron. It holds a rich history and thus the trip there was very engaging as I was able to learn about some history of Hebron. The glass and ceramic factory visit was an experience too as I was able to witness how the ceramics are being made before it is ready for sale. Other than the site visits that the center brought us to, I went to outside of Hebron on my off day. As I went for the volunteering program together with my sister, we went to visit Jerusalem for a day visit. We visited the famous Old City in Jerusalem as well as the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

During our stay here, I was attached to a host family together with my sister. Our host family was very friendly and welcomed us with open arms. They always provided us with whatever they could to ensure that we could adjust to living in Hebron. We learnt a lot while staying with them - their culture, their family, their traditions, the Hebron lifestyle, and the conflict with Israel and how it affects the lives of Palestinians, including our host family. Over dinner, we get to enjoy the host family’s home-cooked Palestinian food, and listen to the family converse in Arabic; a great way for us to pick up and learn the Arabic language here.

We love everything about Palestine - the food, the people, and the scenery. The food here is really delicious, a great opportunity to try out different types of local food that our home country doesn’t serve. The people here are very friendly. They will try to converse with you even though they can’t speak English fluently, and will be more than happy to help you out. Palestinians also get very excited when they see foreigners. They will ask where you’re from and welcome you to Palestine, wishing you a great stay here. The scenery here is very different from Singapore. The architecture is different as there are many high-rise buildings in Singapore compared to Palestine. The weather here is different too. Palestine experiences the 4 seasons while Singapore is very humid and either sunny or rainy. We were able to experience the end of their spring season and the beginning of their summer season. It is chilly in the morning and night, but very hot and sunny in the afternoon.

Safety and security of living in Palestine is one of the many concerns of tourists who’d like to visit Palestine. However, fret not. Although there are many checkpoints along Palestine and many armed soldiers stationed everywhere, I do feel safe. My sister and I did experience some difficulty at Tel Aviv when we first reached Israel but we were able to make it to Hebron safely.

My stay here in Hebron has been really great and I would recommend to others who are keen on doing volunteering works in Palestine, to those who are keen on learning the Arabic language, or even to those who want to visit Palestine as a tourist. I’ve learnt a lot of valuable things here and would not mind coming back again in the future.