The best way to open Palestine

Actually, it was my first volunteering experience and I have nothing to compare, but this was great. First, I was attracted by the opportunity to learn more about Palestine and to finally visit this country. Second, I liked the programme's easy application procedure and appropriate participation fees:)
All my main worries were about work with children, as I had no experience and we didn't study it at our Trade University:) However, children left me only good memories about these happy days. Sometimes one can be upset by thinking that children cannot understand activities and may be one's idea was bad, but next day they can start surprisingly do the same by themselves without any help! And of course, it's great to study them something new, see their happy smiles when they want to share with you their new small but very important for them achievements.
Further, such volunteering is the best way to open the country, to learn more about its people, their lives and traditions. Only there it's possible to understand that in fact life is much easier than we used to think in our "civilized" societies, that happiness is not in some up-to-date electronics or expensive clothes and a huge amount of strange rules and stereotypes that we create everyday, but in our open hearts, real communication, families, best friends who are realy glad to see you everyday. It was also so interesting to find similarities in our cultures and to study Arabic of course! Now I'm so proud of being the only person among my friends who's able to read arabic and... to write these "mysterious" symbols)
Finally, living in Palestinian family is something speial. I didn't feel myself as a guest or a stranger. I was a part of a big lovely family, at the home that was always full of life by children and guests. As for Palestinian food, I can discuss through the whole day this amazing food prepared by our host family's mother, who is, I strongly beleive, the best cook!
Now I often think about any possibility to come back for some longer time to see again these honest and open people, feel again this aroma of Palestinian coffee and spices, to spend the whole energy for creation some new ideas for activities with children in order to receive the main prize - their smiles.