Study Arabic in Palestine

Hi, my name is Eilidh and I am from Scotland. I participated in the intensive study Arabic program at the Excellence Centre for a month in July, 2019. I choose to come to Hebron after two university friends recommended the program to me. I have just finished my third year at university studying Arabic and International Relations, so I have a background in formal Arabic. However, this is pretty useless in terms of communicating with people on a daily basis, so I’d say that the opportunity to learn the Palestinian dialect was my main motivation for participating in the program.
I had a total of 20 days of lessons over the four weeks, normally between Sunday and Thursday with a total of 3 hours of lessons per day. While some people had lessons in the morning I had mine from 12pm – 3pm, which I preferred as it allowed me time before and after class to study as well as more flexibility in my other plans, such as going to the gym or participating in the Excellence Centre run trips which normally began at 1030. The teachers are absolutely wonderful and very flexible, so if you were running late or wanted to do a trip on Thursday for example, I was able to change my lessons to a Saturday. The structure of the lessons was pretty informal, but overall, we covered basic grammar, day to day vocab and customs and traditions in Palestine. I also felt like 3 hours of lessons was enough for one day and I am glad I choose this program as opposed to one in Lebanon which offered 6 hours of classes a day.
I participated in a few of the centre run trips, such as a visit to the Hebron glass and ceramics factory, the Royal factory, and in particular the Ibrahimi mosque with one of the teachers who grew up in a neighbourhood next to the mosque. I found these trips a great way to get to know Hebron on a deeper level, and would recommend them to anyone. I also did a hiking trip to a wadi near Jericho which cost 60 shekels (although a little expensive for just transport), it was something I would have struggled to do by myself and also had the chance to see more of this beautiful country.
I found everyone at the centre (teachers, students, volunteers etc) generally to be lovely and from all of the world, which made conversations really interesting and fun.
It is important to mention that Hebron as a city is very socially and religiously conservative compared to the rest of Palestine. There is very little tourism, which can make you feel a little out of place as a foreigner. If you have travelled to morocco or Egypt before then you will hardly notice the attention in comparison, however, if this is your first visit to an Arab country then the attention and sometimes harassment can be a little overwhelming. Despite this, I found the people of Hebron, generally to be very welcoming and helpful in particular, Marwa and the teachers at the centre.
I unfortunately moved host families as my first family was on the edge of town and I was initially sleeping on a mattress on the floor. They were lovely people and always gave me food but the location meant that I had to rely on lifts from my host mum and as I was there for a month, I wanted more freedom. My second host family was fortunately only a 25 min walk and getting a taxi was very easy, however, they were busy so I hardly saw them. This meant I had a very different experience to some of the other students/ volunteers. This was simply because there were so many volunteers that month so it was hard to find host families, however Marwa was really understanding when I asked to move.
I visited the main cities in Palestine, except the dead sea. Bethlehem is only 45 mins away by servees (shared taxi) and you only really need 3 hours to see the main sites. I often passed through it on my way to Jerusalem. I’d recommend at least three days in Jerusalem because there’s so much to see and I’d recommend sandemans free tour around the old city. Ramallah is a pretty modern city with the best bars etc in Palestine and I’d strongly recommend visiting the Yasser Arafat museum.
The weather in Hebron in July is much more pleasant than elsewhere in Palestine, and the food is also amazing, with vegetarian options almost always available. Overall I enjoyed my time at the excellence centre massively, however, it wasn’t always an easy experience for a variety of reasons. I would mainly advise being aware that there is no public transport in Israel between 4pm – Friday to 7pm Saturday and that many things are closed in Palestine on Fridays. I’d therefore advise planning your trip as much as possible and doing thorough research. I also lost my purse with 300 shekels in a taxi in Hebron which, of course, I never got back. The days can be pretty tiring so I’d make sure you always know where your valuables are.
I would definitely recommend studying at the Excellence centre for the overall experience, as I feel I am leaving Palestine with an invaluable holistic view of the country and history. While there are cheaper studying programs in Lebanon for example, I’m glad I came to the EC and don’t regret it at all.