My experience at the Excellence Center

I really did enjoyed my time at the Excellence Center. I've decided to break up my review into different aspects of the program

Pre-departure: As someone who had never heard of this program at the beginning of the year, I was skeptical of going all the way to Germany for something I thought could potentially not be legitimate. I'm happy to report I did not need to be worried, I located the excellence center very easily (just use google maps and look for a language school sign) and Rafat and staff were friendly and accommodating from the beginning.

Staff: The Full-Time staff was definitely one of the pros of the Excellence Center. They all went out of their way to make me and the other volunteers feel welcomed. Rafat, Radwan, Ali and Muaz were all incredible people I hope you get the chance to meet someday.
Language Instruction: If you pick the program for it you have the opportunity to learn German or Arabic with Muaz. Muaz is a great teacher. In the past I have had really bad foreign language teachers wether they're rude, condescending, or unqualified to teach. Muaz is none of those things. With Muaz I learned German for six weeks and because he fostered a learning environment that was judgement-free and because of this I learned as much German as possible at a very fast rate.

Students: How much students you get really depends up to how much Rafat wants to give you. I only had two students, but I was perfectly fine with this amount. I really liked my students because it was obvious to me that both of them were always ready to learn English and I hope at least helped them reach their English goals!

Housing: The reason it takes a long time to figure out what your housing situation is going to look like is because often times volunteers will sign up at the last minute which will throw things off or they have to look for apartments in Halle if their is a large amount of volunteers doing the program. For me this wasn't issue but if you're wondering why you may not know yet those are potential reasons for why. For my housing I stayed at an apartment dormitory. The apartment its self was nice but I felt like it could have been cleaner upon arrival.

Halle: Halle is a nice town. Halle from a logistical standpoint has everything you need from restaurants, venues, grocery stores, parks, you name it, Halle has it. However, I attempted to learn German before I came here but had to stop due to unforeseen circumstances, but when I got here everything I learned in German seemed to slip out the window as the Germans in Halle I ran into (especially the older ones) did not know English very well and often times if they did, they really were resistant on speaking English to you. In total, this a problem related specifically to me but something you should be aware of is English in Halle is not as widespread as it is in other big cities such as Berlin.
Social Scene; The social scene at the Excellence Center is nice because even though it was quiet during the time I went, the other volunteers or Ali were always down to do something lol.

Flexible Schedules: Working for the Excellence Center was awesome because Rafat will let you work when you want to, which was really nice for me because on the weekdays I wanted to study for the LSAT and on the weekends+ Fridays because we got them off I was able to travel.
Travel: This was one of my favorite parts about living in Germany is that it was accessible to every else especially in Halle. during my 6 weeks there I went to the following countries: Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Denmark, and Sweden. Since I got Fridays off, it was very easy to travel to these places for weekend trips. If you want to do this I would recommend getting a Eurail pass as it is a cheap way to travel across Europe and all you have to do is go to the main train station in Halle and then you can go wherever your heart desires.
In conclusion, this is a really good set-up and to be honest I wish I heard about this earlier. This was truly a life-changing experience that I will never forget. I would really recommend this program to anyone looking to do be in a international setting, to make a big impact on peoples lives, and to see the rest Europe!