Volunteer & Study Arabic In Palestine (1-13 Weeks)

My name is Sam and I am from the United States. I spent two months this summer in Palestine at the Excellence Center partaking in the Teach English Study Arabic program. My daily activities consisted of leading classes in a local village, assisting an Arabic teacher at the New Center in Hebron, studying and practicing Arabic in personal lessons, and writing an occasional article for the Center’s website.
My time as a teacher and teacher’s assistant in Hebron was certainly the most rewarding experience over the course of these two months. I was given a great range of liberty to construct my classes to best suit my style and the needs of the students, and the strong relationships I made with the students created an extremely engaging and productive atmosphere. The students that come to the Center are eager to learn, and the successes found in these lessons are due to their diligence and motivation that they bring everyday. The conversationally-based lessons and diverse curriculum at the Excellence Center have been developed through the introduction and adaptation of ideas from volunteers all over the world, making it a stand-out institution within Hebron.
My experience with my Arabic lessons were equally as positive. Three times per week for a duration of one hour, I had personal Arabic conversation lessons with Marwa, who came everyday with new and engaging exercises that kept things interesting and challenging all at the same time. It was sometimes difficult to balance the coursework from the lessons with the preparation needed for my teaching obligations, but Marwa and the entire staff are beyond understanding and make sure you are working at a fair pace. Through the lessons and constant conversation with the staff and local Palestinians, I feel far more confident, speaking with near-fluency with native speakers. The main focus of the lessons were to develop listening and speaking skills while gaining a far more robust set of vocabulary. I am beyond grateful for my lessons with Marwa and the opportunity to engage in conversations with the open and welcoming staff.
The environment of the Center is truly one of a kind. Within a matter of a few days you truly feel like family with the Palestinian staff and international volunteers. The Arab-influenced sense of community and diverse mix of international cultures blends together to create a unique environment that I’ve never experienced before. I have made relationships here with volunteers, staff, and local people that will last a lifetime, and I am already planning my next stay at the Excellence Center. If you are considering a place in the Middle East to study, intern, or visit to learn Arabic, work with eager and underrepresented people, or experience a lovely, rich culture and society, the Excellence Center is the perfect place to go. I had high hopes about how my time would be here in Hebron, and in every way my experience was better than I could have imagined. Thank you to the Excellence Center and lovely people of Hebron.

I spent two weeks at the Excellence Center assisting with English lessons and taking Arabic classes. I really can't recommend it highly enough, Hebron is a vibrant, welcoming and safe city and the Palestinian people offer fantastic hospitality. The Palestinian teachers here are great and the students are really keen to learn. I feel so grateful to have had this experience and met such interesting people. The Excellence Center really looks after you and arranges your accommodation. They offer morning excursions to local points of interest (e.g. the Ibrahimi mosque, Hebron University etc) and the whole atmosphere of the place is very welcoming. I felt useful and productive the whole time. I would highly recommend volunteering here and will definitely return!

I spent 3 weeks in Hebron volunteering as an english teacher in a village around Hebron. It was a very nice experience and the children are happy to meet international people. I enjoyed exchanging with the Palestinian, they are really welcoming and warmful . I also had the opportunity to learn the Palestinian dialect. The staff at the excellence center is really helpful and supporting. Palestine is a really great place to volunteer, I definitely recommend it. regarding the safety, i had absolutely no issues. I am travelling alone and i never had any concern when travelling in Palestine and Hebron is a safe place, people are really respectful and will do anything to help you. I hope i will find the opportunity to come back at the center and in Palestine in general.

My name is Michael, I'm from Canada, and I volunteered for two months at The Excellence Center in Hebron. There are many experiences I can talk about in regards to my stay in Palestine; the people, the food, the cities, teaching English and learning Arabic. It is impossible to truly write down every detail, as one has to come here to truly see it for themself.

The cities in Palestine are some of the most beautiful cities in the world. Seeing the wall surrounding Bethlehem, and all the artwork that the palestinian people have painted on it was truly humbling. And visiting all the beautiful museums in Jerusalem, as well as the market and old city. One cannot see all of Jerusalem in a day.

Working at The Excellence Center never felt like work. As a volunteer English teacher, you will have tasks such as teaching classes, teaching one on one, giving oral examinations, or travelling to local villages around Hebron and teaching a bunch of a wonderful, smiling students. In fact, teaching at the local village of Dora was the highlight of my teaching experience in Palestine. The children were eager to learn, easy to laugh, and full of questions and wonder. It was truly a blessing to have been able to meet them. As for Arabic, every one of the Arabic teachers at the Excellence Center are wonderful. They are all filled with warmth and kindness, and they clearly love meeting and teaching people from all over the world.

The best part of Palestine is not the food, or the sweets, or the weather or the history; it is the people. I cannot count how many invites I received from the generous people of Palestine. Offering free food, free coffee, free rides; inviting me into their homes and treating me like family. It was such a wonderful thing to see how much the Palestinian people love foreigners. How much they love giving. And from this mountain of kindness, there are a few who stood even further above the rest. They have touched my heart deeply, and because of this, I will have no choice but to return again, and again; just to see them again.

It was a beautiful and amazing journey, to have known Palestine the way I have. You must come to Palestine. There is nowhere else that compares.

I've been very fortunate to be chosen to work at the excellence center. I have had an extremely interesting time and made some amazing memories with new friends which I hope to keep for years to come. During my time here I have gotten to learn about the individuals who call Hebron home as well as the culture and language that has developed here over thousands of years.

I suppose the first thing that struck me was in the classroom. The students that come to the center are all so excited to be there. Palestinians are some of the most educated individuals in the middle east and I really enjoyed seeing so many people both inside and outside of the classroom just be so curious about anything from language and culture, to science and math. They also never were rude or mean spirited towards one another. In other classes I have taught, I've seen students be so nasty to one another. Teaching here has been very refreshing.

I know most people comment on how friendly people in this region of the world are. As an individual from the south of the United states I found the hospitality less shocking. What was very interesting to me was that everyone I ever interacted with knew every other person it seemed that I interacted with. Even from other cities at times. For a city as large as Hebron that is quite the feat. There are a lot of factors that build into this I think. Some of these include how large the average family is, a robust hospitality culture, as well as a thriving gossiping culture. You'll find that if you are ever in need of something or someone you will find someone that can help you out.

Another thing of interest to me is that though the occupation is always overhead, sometimes quite literally with jet planes making a point to remind everyone right above houses. The people here generally go about their lives and laugh and love one another and still open their houses to strangers and friends alike. I have to be honest I was told by other middle eastern friends that the people of Palestine are cold and rude but that has not been my experience at all. And to be honest once more I find their hope for their future here inspiring.

My name is Chelsea and I came to Palestine from the United States. I already hold a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and came to the Excellence Center to participate in an abbreviated volunteer program.

During the course of my two week stay in Hebron, I assisted with English clubs wherein a longer-standing volunteer led a group discussion on a designated topic. I was also given the opportunity to take Arabic lessons with one of the students from the Evening nglish club. Ordinarily people will do two Arabic lessons per week but my instructor was willing to meet nearly every day due to the short duration of my stay. She was an excellent teacher and toward the end of the lessons we would veer off into small talk about culture and languages.

In addition to the Arabic lessons at the Excellence Center, I stayed with a host family who also taught me a bit of Arabic. I stayed with a mother and her son, and her other son and grandchildren lived below us. I arrived to Hebron on a Wednesday and by the next night I was already traveling to Ramallah with my host family to visit more family members and enjoy Ramadan celebrations.

While immediately traveling to Ramallah and knowing very little Arabic was a bit of a culture shock, it was nice to balance that by spending time with the other volunteers. People hailed from all over the world and we all got along well, at least from what I could tell during my two weeks. It was a little difficult to feel included as the majority of them stayed in the same apartments while I was with my host family. But people made extra efforts to invite me out for dinner or coffee. And on that note, the coffee was one of my favorite parts of the trip and I plan to make it the Palestinian way when I get home.

As far as the staff at the Excellence Center goes, they are very quick and responsive. At times it seemed like there was no plan but then when I consider the fact that volunteers come and go and some only stay for a week, the staff did an excellent job of giving everyone the opportunity to see and experience all that Hebron has to offer. Additionally, my trip was during Ramadan so the atmosphere was much more laid back than normal. During my short visit, I got to visit the old city, the university, the glass factory, and the municipality. I would’ve gone to visit a refugee camp as well if I hadn’t fallen ill with a stomach bug that went around. This, however, gave my host family the opportunity to lavish me with kindness and hospitality as they made sure I got better.

For the most part I felt safe in Hebron. I would’ve felt better if I had known more Arabic. I still would not venture out on my own at night, particularly in a different city as a female foreigner, but during the day in Hebron I had no concerns.

The food in Palestine was delicious and I was fortunate to receive home cooked meals from my host family. People were very hospitable and the streets were fascinating; my personal favorite was the street art which was expressive of how people felt about the political situation. The weather was very hot during the day but the evenings were quite pleasant - though sometimes it was a bit too uncomfortably warm to sleep.

I would recommend this program to anyone who is curious about Palestinian culture or who is looking to practice Arabic. It is also good for having a better understanding of the occupation. I think for me, someone who was more curious about the culture, coming during Ramadan was a good choice. Outside of Ramadan is a more rigorous teaching and learning schedule.

My name is Saarah, I am from the UK and I am studying law in London
During my time at the Excellence Center I took part in many activities including talking to a legal trainee about her work in the Sharia Court and learning more about how the Islamic Law is applied to family disputes. I also visited Hebron University and spoke to the Dean of the Law College to learn more about the structure of the course and the areas the students choose to more specialize in, I also gained insight into the origins of Palestinian law and how it has been influenced by British, Jordanian and Ottoman rule. Whilst at the university I attended an arts festival and was impressed by the powerful recitation of famous Palestinian poems as well as the student's reenactments of Shakespeare and other plays and literature.
Alongside this I participated in site visits to the old city of Hebron, Fawwar refugee camp Battir Village, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In particular I was struck by the resilience of the Palestinian people when visiting Shuahada street in Hebron and meeting a woman living in the midst of settlements who has resisted being removed from her home for almost 20 years and has had 25 stints in Israeli prison. In addition to this I spoke with volunteers from the Palestine Red Crescent Society about the work they do and their thoughts and feelings on women's rights and issues in Palestinian society.

Throughout my time in Palestine I have had regular Arabic lessons at the Excellence Center which has improved my confidence in speaking the language as well as making life living in Hebron at lot easier. I also learnt about the different dialects within Palestine as well as the different accents and colloquial ways of talking within Hebron itself. I stayed with a host family who lived close to the center and was also able to practice my Arabic with them, I particularly enjoyed eating a traditional Palestinian meal every with them every night and I will miss them a lot .

What I liked most about Palestine was the welcoming nature of all the local people including their excellent hospitality and their willingness to help out in any way they can even when it was difficult to communicate. I also liked tasting all the local food and visiting all the historical sites as well as enjoying the amazing weather during my time here and these are the reasons that I would love to visit again soon.

My name is Saarah, I am from the UK and I am studying law in London
During my time at the Excellence Center I took part in many activities including talking to a legal trainee about her work in the Sharia Court and learning more about how the Islamic Law is applied to family disputes. I also visited Hebron University and spoke to the Dean of the Law College to learn more about the structure of the course and the areas the students choose to more specialize in, I also gained insight into the origins of Palestinian law and how it has been influenced by British, Jordanian and Ottoman rule. Whilst at the university I attended an arts festival and was impressed by the powerful recitation of famous Palestinian poems as well as the student's reenactments of Shakespeare and other plays and literature.
Alongside this I participated in site visits to the old city of Hebron, Fawwar refugee camp Battir Village, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. In particular I was struck by the resilience of the Palestinian people when visiting Shuahada street in Hebron and meeting a woman living in the midst of settlements who has resisted being removed from her home for almost 20 years and has had 25 stints in Israeli prison. In addition to this I spoke with volunteers from the Palestine Red Crescent Society about the work they do and their thoughts and feelings on women's rights and issues in Palestinian society.

Throughout my time in Palestine I have had regular Arabic lessons at the Excellence Center which has improved my confidence in speaking the language as well as making life living in Hebron at lot easier. I also learnt about the different dialects within Palestine as well as the different accents and colloquial ways of talking within Hebron itself. I stayed with a host family who lived close to the center and was also able to practice my Arabic with them, I particularly enjoyed eating a traditional Palestinian meal every with them every night and I will miss them a lot .

What I liked most about Palestine was the welcoming nature of all the local people including their excellent hospitality and their willingness to help out in any way they can even when it was difficult to communicate. I also liked tasting all the local food and visiting all the historical sites as well as enjoying the amazing weather during my time here and these are the reasons that I would love to visit again soon.