Internship in the Excellence Center

My name is Tereza. This summer I decided to participate in Law Internship provided by the Excellence Center in Hebron.
I was always interested in situation of Palestinian people, and I took this as an opportunity to practice and get better in Arabic and learn more about the applicable law in Palestine. When I considered possibilities to travel abroad and learn Levantine Arabic, I basically didn’t consider for visiting any other country than Palestine.
Palestinian people are very kind and hospitable. My stay with host family is amazing, all members of family are very caring and nice, keen to help me with Arabic and excited to practice English and get better in that. The one month stay allowed me to focus on Palestinian dialect more and get better in that, as well as travelling and attending various activities provided by the Center. I am very glad I could also visit various places and institutions (as a part of my program), as Hebron Governorate, UNRWA, Red Cross and many others. This part of my program in the Center was one of the most helpful regarding understanding the situation in Hebron, and at the same time making this experiment unique.
I really enjoyed my Arabic lessons. My teacher Mahmoud was the best teacher I have ever had for any foreign language, and I am leaving with the feeling I got much better in understanding and speaking Arabic.
During my stay, I had possibility to travel to Ramallah and Nabulus with my host family, to Jericho and Jerusalem on my own, and to Bethlehem, Batir and Mar Saba within the trip organized by the Center.
Regarding safety – Hebron is safe city. All the people around me, including the host family are making sure I feel comfortable and relaxed. I feel safe in this place and very welcomed. There are absolutely no concerns about my safety in Palestine as a foreigner.
During my stay in Hebron, I focused mainly on topics related to my studies, meaning law and Arabic language. There is no better place to improve my skills in Arabic language then around natives. Regarding my law internship – as many European lawyers and law students would agree with me, we have a very little knowledge of law systems outside our countries or Europe. I consider this as a unique possibility to understand better the sources of Palestinian law, its application, division, and have a possibility to talk with the local lawyers. The applicable law in Palestine is often a compound from different sources, including neighboring countries and Ottoman empire. During the lectures, I focused mainly on Sharia law, system of courts in Palestine and also the political situation here.
The Excellence Center is doing their best to provide all important information on their website beforehand, so once you arrived, you can already feel like in your second home. I would recommend to others to participate at any program provided by the Center.