Cultural Immersion- Definitely an Experience!

I volunteered at the Excellence centre for 2 months in the summer of 2013. My main task was to coordinate a series of workshops for fresh graduates in CV writing, interview skills, job applications, formal letters/ emails etc alongside teaching both beginner and intermediate english. The graduate workshops were great, a lot of people came and it really felt like the students learnt some valuable skills which they could use to apply for jobs. I did the whole workshop in English though and I think some students had problems understanding.

I think something which should be made clear is the excellence centre is a business which also does charitable work. So most of the lessons students pay for to maintain the running of the place, then workshops, lessons at refugee camps etc are given for free.

The stay with a host family was a great cultural experience, my family was amazing, but not everyone gets their own room (although I didn't mind sharing, some people might) so make sure you are really clear about where you are staying from the beginning and how far from the centre it is etc.... make sure your contract is clear with how much money you pay, how much money the family receive, how many meals you get included from the centre, and from the family so you don't have any technical issues when you arrive. Unlike the other reviews I received all the Arabic lessons without a problem, which were really useful (you won't learn arabic overnight though!) and some trips around Hebron which were very interesting.

Hebron is a crazy place.... the old town is amazing and the people are super friendly and welcoming. The social scene will probably be hanging around with your host family, other interns and the people from the excellence centre, but if you have as cool a crowd as I did, that will be enough. You won't though be able to find alcohol or anything more than a sheesha and coffee, so if you want to party, Hebron is not the place! I would recommend making the effort to travel Palestine and Israel whilst you are there - definitely an interesting experience. I never felt unsafe in Hebron (obviously following safety rules you would follow anywhere, i.e. don't walk around alone at night), but sometimes people staring and making comments can be exhausting, but welcome to the Middle East.

If you want to experience Palestinian culture and learn about the occupation whilst eating great food, meeting amazing people and learning some arabic or teaching english, I would recommend the excellence centre.

Ah and on arrival, ask the centre to organise you a taxi from Jerusalem else it can get very confusing!