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

The feelings of nerves, curiosity and excitement were all present the way they had been during my first week of school, at my first job and the first time I moved away from home. Everything was brand new. The streets, the food, the people, I didn't know what to expect and had no idea what my time is going to be like in Khalil. I had done plenty of research on the Excellence Centre website, read a lot of reviews, watched a lot of their videos, and the message of safety was always conveyed, but hearing from someone else and experiencing it yourself are two very different things.

I arrived to Khalil in the late evening. Having asked around a bit and got some help from the locals, I found the Excellence Centre and waited for Osama and Marwa to arrive as it the Centre was already closed and having had no internet I couldn't inform them until I got there. They welcomed me, gave me tea, showed me around the centre and took me to my host family.

I was greeted with the famous Arab hospitality. I was fed well and shown where I was going to stay. It was the middle of February and bitterly cold, especially indoors. I was fortunate to be given my own room and my own bathroom however the cleanliness was definitely not up to standard.

As I had arrived on a Thursday evening I had the next day off as Friday is part of the weekend. Having completed Friday prayers my host family invited me to a barbeque in their garden. It was delicious and we spoke at great length, with all of them having a lot of questions about my background, my reasons for coming to Palestine, what I thought of it so far, and it was great to watch them all together being a family I have grown real affection for.

Saturday was my first day at the centre and it was very active. Students of all ages were going in and out of different classes and I was invited to one of the English classes with students ageing 10 to 15. Soon enough I was asked to take over and I introduced myself, answered a lot of questions and in turn asked a few myself about their daily routines and interests. I was then introduced to my Arabic teacher Doha and we had our first Arabic lesson which was followed by joining another teacher in the centre, Annas, in helping him teach his English class.

I arrived on time for breakfast the second day and enjoyed a spread of hummus, baba gunush, falafel, salad, bread, tea and coffee. I was introduced to the rest of the members of staff of the centre and the visitors who joined us for breakfast on that day. Every day different friends of the centre would join us for breakfast or drop by to say hello and all would make the effort to converse and welcome me.

The second day I sat in on an English class and then got taken to Fawar Camp. The refugee camp I came to work and teach in. The journey took half an hour and Osama took drove myself, Alicia, a Swiss volunteer, and Doha. The camp was drastically different to Hebron city. A dirt bumpy road spit a deteriorating encampment. Shops selling the basics had hoards of men sitting outside of them, smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee.

We arrived to where the lesson would be taught and were greeted by 30 Fawar camp students. Happy and excited to see us, and eager to learn but struggling with being disciplined and paying attention. Though they were receiving an education, it was clear to see the difference between them and the students of similar ages who would come to the Excellence Centre in the city. Good kids, but severely lacking attention and opportunity. After the class I was shown the rest of the camp and saw the environment thousands were forced to call home.

All the people I interacted with, whether young students or adults, within the Excellence Centre or out on the street, everyone welcomed me to Palestine and Hebron with open arms. People were genuinely happy to see an 'ajnabee' (foreigner) in their city. Shopkeepers and restaurants refused to accept money when realising I wasn't a local. I asked one why he, like others before him, insisted on not taking payment and he told me that it was important to the people of Hebron, and Palestine, that when a foreigner leaves they leave with the best possible impression of their country. So they tell their own people about the positivity and spread the message on their rich, hospitable culture.

Over the next few following days I found myself teaching a number of classes, answering a lot of questions about who I was, why I came to Palestine and what I my experience was like so far. My first week was a blend of teaching English classes, receiving Arabic classes, going to Fawar Camp and receiving tours of the city. Being taken to the old city of Hebron, a beautiful historic place, with thousands of years worth of stories and culture embedded in its stone walls.

Everyone in the Excellence Centre ensured I was taken care of and welcomed. Marwa and Osama checked up on me everyday to make sure I did not need anything, as did my host family. When I did ask for something, they made sure I got it straight away. Where I lived lacked cooking equipment and when I told Marwa about it she made a bag full of utensils, plates, pans etc and gave it to me so that I could cook for myself.

My first week was a blur. It was intense, I saw a lot of faces, shook a lot of hands, ate a lot of food and was thrown into the Palestinian culture with support behind me.

For my five-week holiday in Israel & Palestine, it was really important to me to see the Palestinian side as well. Therefore, apart from some other short forays into the West Bank yet to come, I decided to spend one week as a volunteer at Excellence Center in Hebron.
The most surprising thing for me was how friendly everyone was - not just people at the Center, but children, teenagers and adults in the street as well who had never seen me before! Very often they would call out "hi", "hello", "what's your name", "where are you from" or "welcome to Palestine" - which I thought was really nice even though on most occasions I only answered briefly, but that was totally fine - unlike thirty years ago in Italy when men were looking for a date for the evening. :-)
My host family were amazing and lovely too. I was so lucky with them - not only were they among the few people who don't smoke inside the house, but I was also invited for their "iftar" (breaking the fast after sunset) meals at the beginning of Ramadan, which were sooooo delicious.
I had Arabic lessons with two very nice teachers who couldn't have been more patient and we even ended up doing overtime. The second teacher gave me - on my request - an informative brief lecture on the human rights situation in Palestine - in English of course, there's no way I could have coped with this topic in Arabic!
As for my actual volunteering bit with English language teaching, it would have been better if I'd stayed longer. Ideally I would have met each class at least twice and from the second time on liaised with their regular teacher well before the lesson in order to discuss what activities I could lead or what supplementary materials I could design to tie in with the lesson's topic and aimed at increasing student talking time in the target language. But for this to happen, one week was really too short.
As mentioned in other reviews, bring layers of clothing! I was glad of my hot water bottle for the first few nights...
I had a great time at the Excellence Center in Hebron, and who knows, maybe at some stage I'll try out their branch in Germany too!

I chose this program because I wanted an economical way to travel to Palestine alone as a first-time traveler to this region, and I had the editorial experience for this role. I was only here a month and would suggest future participants plan on two months since it takes about a week to become settled and find your rhythm. Arabic lessons focused on the colloquial Palestinian dialect since my main study in the U.S. had been MSA, though you have the option to study MSA or colloquial dialects as you please. This was useful for me since depending on where you go in Hebron, people may only understand colloquial Arabic, especially in the main market near the Old City. I travelled to Hebron by myself as a woman a month after the borders reopened and can say that the city and Palestine in general is very safe; I often walked alone late at night and never had any problems.

I am Alicia, I am 29 years old and I am from Switzerland.

I came to Hebron to volunteer with Refugees in the camp for one week. My first Impression of Hebron was very positive, the people go out of their ways to help you. For one week I was staying with a host family in the city center in Hebron, they welcomed me with a warm heart and many questions. Every morning I went to the excellence center to have a traditional Palestinian breakfast. In the center I had Arabic classes with a teacher, she thought me daily conversations in Arabic, that were very useful. In the camp I was giving english lessons to the children, what amazed me was the high motivation from the children.
My experience with the excellence center was very nice, everything was organized, the people were very welcoming and always happy to answer any open questions. I made new friends and also gained more knowledge about the situation in Palestine. My experience in Hebron was very educational and beautiful. I encourage everyone to come and see, feel the beauty of Palestine.

My experience at the Excellence Center in Hebron (Palestine) was awesome.
Teaching young students and laughing with them was worthwhile and energising. Although my stay was short, it was full of unexpected surprises, such as hiking and having the best picnic ever with young teachers amid ancient olive groves, barbecuing with a super friendly staff in a vineyard surrounded by spectacular views, staying with a generous and happy local family where I tasted delicious dishes, exploring the old city and its market, and learning conversational Arabic that would help me get by!! The whole experience was amazing.
The only thing I regret is not staying longer. Hopefully next time.
Shukran guys!

Staying at the Excellence Center truly felt like being part of a family. I had the chance to stay in a host family which gave me the great opportunity of getting to know their everyday life and practice my arabic! The arabic lessons were very helpful, the classes are individual and focus on the most important things to learn. During my volunteering, I got the chance to teach in various contexts, at the Center, in schools, and in refugee camps, which was very interesting to see. I felt that the students were very eager to learn and very motivating. It was very interesting to get to know more about the Palestinian culture and people were very nice and open to internationals. I felt safe at all times and hope to come back to Hebron and the Excellence Center in the future!

Overall a great atmosphere for a productive learning/teaching environment for students and teachers alike. Winter is not so cold but tends to be less people I personally enjoyed the attention afforded to me as I was one of the few to live here in the winter time. I and many other were able to travel not only around the awesome historic city of Hebron but to many other cities throughout the region. The safety of the city is good, there are some stories and many exaggerated events but you can see for yourself how things actually are when you come.

I had the opportunity to deliver leadership workshops with the Excellence Centre in Hebron and it has been one of the best experiences I have had. My workshops were based on leadership, mastering self-awareness, and using influence and communication to empower one’s environment. I delivered 2 different workshops in English to university and high school students who engaged in the various activities and learning material over 7 days.

The Excellence Centre family have been a great host, where I have enjoyed our daily breakfasts together, assisting in any issues I had. Hebron is a lovely city with so much history to experience, complemented by lovely people. Hebron is unique in that you can truly see the effects of the conflict given the separation of the city into 2 parts. Therefore, I have learnt a lot about the conflict’s history and its effect on people’s daily life.

During the weekends, I had a chance to travel to Ramallah, Nablus and Jericho. It was so interesting to find out that every city in the West Bank is very culturally different. It felt like I was visiting different countries, all providing beautiful scenery and amazing experiences. Felt safe during my stay here.

I can say with ease that, throughout my 2 week travel in the region, my experience in Hebron has been the most impactful due to the lovely people I have met in this city. I leave hopeful and inspired by their strength and love and I hope to come back soon to see all their smiling faces . Love and peace.