Fieldwork for dissertation

My name is Rosalind I am 22 years old and I am from Norway. This is my second time at the Excellence Center, last year I did Intensive Arabic for two weeks and this year I am doing Fieldwork and Academic Research Program for one month. I am currently a BSc student of Anthropology in England and came here to conduct research for my dissertation. The reason I came back was because I was confident that the Excellence Center would be able to help me with the research I conducted. As I do not speak Arabic very well the help from the Excellence Center was essential for me to succeed in the research I did.

The staff at the Excellence Center helped translating the questionnaire into Arabic, finding people to be interviewed and finding people to fill in my questionnaire. I even got the chance to bring the Questionnaire to Hebron University; this would not have been possible without the help from the Excellence Center.

Alongside my research work, I studied Arabic three hours each week. This was a great opportunity for me to improve my Arabic as I hope to become fluent in the language someday. Although Arabic was not the focus of my trip this time, I was able to really improve, thanks to my Arabic instructor and my everyday conversations with Palestinians. When learning Arabic at the Excellence Center you get the opportunity to learn Arabic one to one and to focus on what you find most important.

This is the second time I have I travelled in Palestine by myself and I have always felt safe. Everyone I met was very friendly and helpful. I also met many international volunteers who also travelled alone.

I took advantage of my free weekends to travel with some other international volunteers to Bethlehem, Ramallah and the Dead Sea. Bethlehem is probably my favourite city in Palestine, however there are many places I have not had the opportunity to visit yet. Bethlehem is a cosy small city where you can see the wall and talk to people about their memories when the wall was build, and most famously it is the city where the Church of the Nativity is. I have only been In Ramallah for a daytrip, but I am planning a second visit before I fly back to Norway.

I arrived in Hebron when it was still Ramadan. Experiencing Hebron during and after Ramadan seems like experiencing two different cities, both good in different ways. During Ramadan the day starts later and during the night people go shopping, buying ice cream and visiting family members. Living in a host family I had the opportunity to experience Ramadan up close with good food in the evening and walks in the city during the night. After Ramadan, life goes back to normal, the working day starts earlier and shopping is more of a daytime thing to do.

Overall I really enjoyed Palestine and the Excellence Center and hope I will come back one day, Inshallah.