Amazing Experience

My name is Hannah and I am from Essex, England. I was volunteering at the Excellence Centre on the Teach for Palestine programme.

During my three months in Hebron, I had a wide range of teaching experiences. I delivered several workshops on CV writing and interview skills to university students and graduates, I had several private students; some were preparing to take the IELTS test and some wanted to improve their English language skills for work. I taught an Intermediate English Conversation course, and assisted as a native speaker in some beginners courses. I ran an English club for school students to practice their speaking and listening. I also ran four workshops for English teachers, and another for English graduates, focusing on how to promote creativity in the English language classroom. This range of experiences has been really useful for me, because up until my arrival in Hebron, I had only worked in a primary school.

I had several different Arabic teachers during my time at the Excellence Centre, they were all good in different ways, but it might have been better to have had one teacher. I definitely feel that my Arabic has improved a lot, by being in an Arabic speaking environment, particularly my receptive language. I am still not too confident about joining in conversations but I definitely understand a lot more and it has definitely given me the motivation to study further.

The environment at the centre has been a positive one for me, I have enjoyed the fact that the management trust the teachers and volunteers to deliver lessons or activities in whatever way suits them, and the students, best. As an experienced teacher, I have really enjoyed that freedom, but I understand that might be challenging for volunteers who don’t come from a teaching background. I have really loved working with the students- funny, clever, talented people of all ages and abilities. The staff have been friendly and helpful, and I feel really lucky to have met a really interesting group of international volunteers while I have been here.

I went on several visits organised by the Excellence Centre. I went to the Ibrahimi Mosque and to the Old City, to the Glass Factory and to Al Fawwar camp. I also went to a grape festival and a Food Exhibition.

I have visited Bethlehem several times, I went last night, in fact, to see the Christmas lights! I like to be in the countryside, so on my days off, I have gone on various hiking trips with different groups. That has really been a highlight of my stay. I went to Wadi Qelt a couple of times, it is really very beautiful, and I went on several valley walks near to Ramallah and Jericho. I had one particularly lovely walk in Wadi al-Qaf, which is very close to Hebron. It was olive picking time, so lots of families were out together working on their trees. One family invited us to sit and eat with them, and we had a lovely meal of stuffed vine leaves under the trees. A little bit further along the way another family invited us to have coffee with them. It was a really lovely day.

I have had a really good experience with my host family, they have been very friendly and hospitable and it has been lovely to get to know them. They have really helped me with my Arabic. I was really glad that there was a lovely garden to sit in and it was nice to have my own space too.

I felt as safe in Hebron as I would in any city, so I felt okay to walk around on my own, with the same kind of caution I would take in London, or anywhere else. I did feel self-conscious sometimes, as a woman, in what felt like very male-dominated public spaces, but had no real problems.

I have really enjoyed my time in Palestine, the countryside is beautiful, the food is great and the people have been really funny, friendly and kind. The Excellence Centre was a really good choice for me because it has given me really good teaching experiences, and the chance to meet and work with really interesting students and colleagues. I would recommend the Teach for Palestine programme at The Excellence Centre to any teachers who enjoy working flexibly, and would like to gain some different experiences while staying in this fascinating country.