Welcome, Welcome to Hebron!

I’m currently completing my second experience teaching with the Excellence Center in Hebron, Palestine. I initially came to Palestine to teach for one month in the fall of 2015, when I first fell in love with the bustle of Hebron’s streets and the warmth of its people. I returned to teach again for two months this spring, and will complete my time at the Excellence Center in just a few days.

I wholeheartedly recommend that others come to have this volunteer experience as well. The curriculum that we’re expected to teach at Excellence is interactive, and I’ve loved getting to know my students during the past two months. The local Arab staff are kind and supportive, and eager to help with any potential issues that volunteers might have in adapting to the culture or in settling in with host families. Hebron is beautiful, with gorgeous hillsides surrounding the city and an incredible Old City, that in Palestine is rivalled only by Jerusalem in terms of size and style.

Although Hebron is famous for being a center of Palestinian-Israeli tension, I’ve learned that there is so much more to this city than conflict. It’s a city of amazing people, who continue to welcome me into their homes. They have housed me, given me shoes, and shared countless cups of coffee and tea. It’s a city of generous and patient people who help me when I’m lost, feed me when I’m hungry, and give me roses from their gardens when I’m sad. Now this is what comes to mind first when I think of Hebron: not the conflict, but instead the sweet students, friends, and strangers who have made me feel like I belong in their city.

Of course, there are also challenges to living in a new culture. There are many things I still don’t understand, and I certainly can’t learn Arabic quite as quickly as I’d like. There are significant cultural differences, and I’ve had to adapt appropriately. Schedules (and lifestyles) are generally less structured here than they are in the US, and I’m continuing to learn to be flexible and gracious.

Overall, I am so grateful for the time that I’ve spent with the Excellence Center here in Palestine. I’ve learned so much from my time in Hebron, and will continue to process my experience here for a very long time. I’ll take back to the US many fond memories of a city that now feels like home, and people who now feel like family.