Life changing experience

We are 2 sisters (Sahar and Shahoudah) from Mauritius Island and we have been Teaching English and Learning Arabic as volunteers at the Excellence Center for 2 weeks. Before coming to Palestine, we sometimes felt anxious about how to reach and live in Palestine and Hebron safely. Mr Rafat Shantir has always been assisting us in the procedures and necessary information through Skype, emails and WhatsApp until we reach. On reaching Palestine on the first day itself, we felt overwhelmed by the sceneries of the country and the hospitality of the people and realized that we had unnecessary worries before coming and that our stay would be too short.
The staff of the EC were both professional and friendly at the same time and thus creating a pleasant working environment. We were introduced to our host family on the first day at the EC and met the other international volunteers. Teaching and learning takes place through activities at the EC, outside the EC and in partnership with other schools in the region for different levels of students. During the two weeks, we have been to Kharas and some other schools to teach English. We have also been to the Hebron Polytechnic University for a workshop on the Spelling Bee Competition. The experience was always a win-win situation for both the students and us. Students could learn from us and we also learn so much from them about their culture and about things we would not get to know on Palestine through the media.
At the EC, the lesson usually starts within the classroom and ends with practical exercises about real life situations outside the classroom. There is also an English Club at the EC in which we could help students practice conversational English. One of the activities conducted was to teach students how to order food/ drink in a coffee shop or restaurant. The lesson started in class and continued in a coffee shop or visiting a hotel (Plaza hotel). The students in Hebron are always keen about learning the English language and other cultures. The motivation of the pupils also motivated us to give the best of ourselves not only to teach but to teach with our hearts.
We also had Arabic classes with Mariam, an Arabic teacher, at the EC. The level of our Arabic was very basic and Mariam could make learning Arabic more fun. At the end of the 2 weeks we could easily negotiate prices while shopping or with the taxi driver in Arabic. We could also converse with some words with students in Arabic.

Fridays are holidays in Palestine and we are given one day off per week at the EC. We thought that we would not have enough time to visit in the nearby region or socialize with other more people. But the EC caters for the internationals volunteers and organize regular outings from the Centre with other internationals e.g we have been at the Al Maskobiya Church, Camel Shop. Our host family also caters for our stay in Hebron. We were accompanied to the Old city of Hebron and Ibrahimi Mosque on our day off. On Fridays, we have been to Jerusalem and we could also visit Jericho during our short stay. All the places were physically and spiritually beautiful. We neither felt lonely nor unsafe at any time because Palestinians are always enthusiastic to help and give details about the history of the country. Palestine is a country which cannot be understood neither in books nor internet but only by experiencing it.