Intensive Arabic Programs In Palestine (1-13 Weeks)

My name is Rosalind I am 22 years old and I am from Norway. This is my second time at the Excellence Center, last year I did Intensive Arabic for two weeks and this year I am doing Fieldwork and Academic Research Program for one month. I am currently a BSc student of Anthropology in England and came here to conduct research for my dissertation. The reason I came back was because I was confident that the Excellence Center would be able to help me with the research I conducted. As I do not speak Arabic very well the help from the Excellence Center was essential for me to succeed in the research I did.

The staff at the Excellence Center helped translating the questionnaire into Arabic, finding people to be interviewed and finding people to fill in my questionnaire. I even got the chance to bring the Questionnaire to Hebron University; this would not have been possible without the help from the Excellence Center.

Alongside my research work, I studied Arabic three hours each week. This was a great opportunity for me to improve my Arabic as I hope to become fluent in the language someday. Although Arabic was not the focus of my trip this time, I was able to really improve, thanks to my Arabic instructor and my everyday conversations with Palestinians. When learning Arabic at the Excellence Center you get the opportunity to learn Arabic one to one and to focus on what you find most important.

This is the second time I have I travelled in Palestine by myself and I have always felt safe. Everyone I met was very friendly and helpful. I also met many international volunteers who also travelled alone.

I took advantage of my free weekends to travel with some other international volunteers to Bethlehem, Ramallah and the Dead Sea. Bethlehem is probably my favourite city in Palestine, however there are many places I have not had the opportunity to visit yet. Bethlehem is a cosy small city where you can see the wall and talk to people about their memories when the wall was build, and most famously it is the city where the Church of the Nativity is. I have only been In Ramallah for a daytrip, but I am planning a second visit before I fly back to Norway.

I arrived in Hebron when it was still Ramadan. Experiencing Hebron during and after Ramadan seems like experiencing two different cities, both good in different ways. During Ramadan the day starts later and during the night people go shopping, buying ice cream and visiting family members. Living in a host family I had the opportunity to experience Ramadan up close with good food in the evening and walks in the city during the night. After Ramadan, life goes back to normal, the working day starts earlier and shopping is more of a daytime thing to do.

Overall I really enjoyed Palestine and the Excellence Center and hope I will come back one day, Inshallah.

My name is Lea, I'm 26 years old and I'm from Germany. I spend a bit more than 3 weeks in the excellence center in Hebron to do the intensive Arabic program. I studied Amia, the local dialect and it was really fun.

I learned all the basics about introducing myself, speaking about daily life, food, hobbies...

so I could follow some conversations at the end of my stay. I'm quite impressed by how fast I got used to the language without doing any language course before. I have to thank my wonderful teacher Ahlam, who really forced me to speak Arabic and explained everything again and again. Thanks to her I felt comfortable to speak to other people and could improve my spoken language every day.

Before coming to Palestine I really recommend you to learn at least the alphabet (I did so). So you can start right away to learn the words and the grammar. One time you arrive don't be shy to start talking. I had a lot of friends, who helped me every day to learn new words. I just kept asking them about everything and tried to remember.

Hebron itself is also really worth to visit. It's maybe the most important place to get to know if you want to understand the history and the actual political situation of the holy land. The people are very kind, welcoming and respectful. You're get always invited for a coffee or tea and people try their best to help you. My host family was also really lovely and explained to me everything.

I felt most of the time comfortable and safe. Besides of the streets, the city is super calm and you can walk alone everywhere you want.

So come to Hebron and be part of the excellence center.

My name is Maria, I am a health counselor from Austria and spent three weeks at the Excellence Center in Hebron, studying Arabic every day for three hours. I was lucky to have Scheima as my teacher and I cannot thank her enough for her professionalism and vast experience in teaching Arabic. She is an amazing teacher, who is very kind, patient and funny and I enjoyed my classes so much and profited very much from them. We talked a lot about Palestine and its traditions and customs and I was looking forward to my classes every day.
Everyone at the Center is so forth-coming and friendly and tries their best to make your stay a great experience.

I stayed with a host family, which was an amazing experience. Marwa was so generous and kind and I was welcomed like a family member by all her family. I was invited many times to dinner and got to experience different Palestinian dishes, which all tasted amazing. I was also able to practice my Arabic, as everyone was very happy to talk in Arabic with me.

The Center organized many activities and I got to visit the Old Town, the Ibrahimi Mosque, a glass blowing factory and also went on a day trip to the Dead Sea.
On my weekends, I travelled to different cities (e.g. Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jerusalem), which I enjoyed tremendously. It is one thing to read about Palestine and the Israeli occupation, but quite something else to experience it yourself and see with your own eyes the restrictions put on Palestinians.

I encourage everyone to come and visit Palestine and stay at the Excellence Center. Palestine is such a beautiful country, but what will make your stay even more special are the kind people. I never felt unsafe, especially because the people are the most warm-hearted and hospitable people I have ever met. I learned so much and improved my Arabic and cannot recommend the Excellence Center enough. I hope to come back soon- inshallah!

My name is Marco Izzi, I’m 46 years old and I’m originally from Italy, but I’ve been living in Germany for a very long time.
I’ve been studying Arabic by myself for more than one year, and in this time I attended two courses in different schools abroad for short periods.
I found the Excellence Center through a Google Search and I was attracted already from the beginning by the idea of visiting Palestine, not only to study Arabic, but also to build my own opinion about the situation in this part of the world.
I can describe my experience as divided in three parts:
1. THE PRE-DEPARTURE NERVOUSNESS: From the very moment I booked my course and flight, I was wondering whether I made the right thing. I was really worried because of the perception we get from the news about the local situation. Moreover, my family and friends were telling me that they didn’t support my choice. I’ve been reading the recommendations from the foreign affairs department several times before the departure date
2. THE ARRIVAL AND STAY: After arriving, after talking to people, hanging over with locals, taking lessons at school, meeting the school mates and the volunteers from the Excellence Center, after getting to know Palestine, all my worries as reported in the point nr.1 disappeared. I can affirm without any doubt that Hebron, and in general Palestine, are among the safest places in the world. But this is only one side of the experience. The other side is the warmness of people, which are among the friendliest I’ve ever met in my life, after visiting more than four dozen countries, though always being respectful and never harassing you. Simple, good hearted people who are ready to leave their last piece of bread to you to because of the sacredness of hospitality in their culture. The last, but probably the most important mention of my period at the Excellence Center, is the Arabic Course. I attended a super intensive course of Modern Standard Arabic. Actually six hours per day could seem a lot, but the teaching method of my teacher Doaa and the large variety of activities offered by the school (city tours, craft factories visits, cooking sessions, etc.), make the studying time enjoyable, interesting and never boring.
3. THE SADNESS OF LEAVING: Seldom a place remained in my heart and in my thoughts as Hebron did. After this experience I know one thing for sure: I’ll come back.
ما السلامة يا فلسطين

My name is Tristan and I'm from America. I participated in the Excellence Center's intensive Arabic studies program for two weeks in early 2019.

I decided on the program as a means of both improving my fledgling Arabic and visiting an area rich in culture and political interest. While I mainly stayed in Hebron, where the program provided living accommodations, I also visited Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Traveling in Palestine is generally cheap and easy, though it helps to have functional Arabic.

My stay was likely too short to fully review the quality of the program, but without a doubt my teacher and the staff at the Center were extremely kind, patient and knowledgeable. Some of the staff have much more English than others, and my Arabic isn't conversational, so that limited my interactions.

This may have been because I was at the Center a short period, but I do wish there had been more trips/tours organized by the staff. On my penultimate day we visited the last remaining kufiyyah factory in Hebron, but this was the only trip during my stay.

I would say any of the programs here will be most beneficial to somebody who already has functional Arabic and is very social. If you have a good 'base' of Arabic and you're a social learner, you could dramatically improve your Arabic via this program, even in a short amount of time.

In general, the Palestinians I met were all extremely gracious and were without exception interested in chatting and engaging with tourists. The Center didn't always feel entirely structured but I think anybody with the right attitude and disposition could get a lot out of the Arabic studies program.

Today is my last day at the Excellence Center after a 3 week stay here. I came to Hebron to study Arabic and I have learned a ton during my stay. But while here, I also fell in love with Palestine and the people who have welcomed me into their homes and lives. The Excellence Center is a truly unique place that cultivates life-long connections and friendships between people. The structure of the Arabic language program is quite effective in encouraging students (even shy ones like myself) to practice speaking from day 1, and the people who run the Center are loving and kind and endlessly patient. My teacher Ibrahim was fantastic, passionate about his work, and came to every lesson with enthusiasm. My host Marwa was so welcoming and brought laughter into every day. This place is a gem!

My name is Bobby Stevens and I am from New York in the United States. I graduated St. Bonaventure University with a Bachelors degree in International Studies. Some of my hobbies include traveling, reading and playing football. I am currently finishing up my volunteer work in Hebron, Palestine with The Excellence Center.
Here at The Excellence Center I am teaching English as well as learning Arabic. As an English teacher I have had many different types classes. I have assisted Arabic teachers who are native to Palestine, I have taught in a one on one setting, and I have also had my own class of 7-9 students at the Intermediate level. My experience teaching at The Excellence Center has been nothing but wonderful. All of the teachers are very well qualified and always so helpful. I’m proud to call each one of the teachers here my close friend that I will never forget. Teaching English has been a very rewarding experience as I have really felt as though I am making a difference in my students lives.
Learning Arabic with the amazing Marwa Shantir has been an absolute blessing. Over these past 3 months I went from knowing basic greetings to being able to participate in conversation with native speakers. The full emersion experience is the best way to learn any language. Aside from having one on one lesions 3 times a week with a highly qualified teacher, I am surrounded by native speakers which forces me to practice at all times of the day. Although I do not have Arabic lessons every day, I am constantly practicing with everyone around me.
The city of Hebron is really eager to improve their tourism industry. For this reason everybody is so generous and kind to all foreigners coming into the city. Every day I am invited to another dinner, lunch or café for a coffee. You really feel like you are home here at Hebron, not just as another tourist in another city. Family life and morals are such an important part of the culture here in Hebron. Reputation of one’s name is very important and because of this I have felt so safe throughout my stay here. From all of the cities I have traveled to, I have never felt safer leaving my door unlocked at night.
I am very sad that my time here in Hebron is up, but I am excited to come back in April and work for a month. Hebron has really became my 2nd home and all of the people here my brothers and sisters. There is no city like the city of Hebron.

I did the 2 months intensive arabic course at the Excellence Center in Hebron. I really enjoyed the interactive lessons with my teacher, and i learned a lot during this 2 months.
Beside my lessons there also were some visits with the Center. I went to Ramallah, Nablus, Jericho and the death sea. But also some visits in Hebron itself, like the Old City and the Ibrahimi mosque, the glass factory and the kufiya factory.

During this 2 months i lived with a lovely hostfamily, they were all really kind and hospitable. We always had dinner together with the family, and i spend a lot of time together with my host sister.

I felt completely safe in Palestine. The palestinian people are really kind, helpful and hospitable. and i did not had any bad experience.
I highly recommend the Excellence center for others, it will be a great experience.
And i already planned to go back to Hebron and to the Excellence center