A Door Opener Into Palestinian Everyday Life - and People's Hearts

Activities
My main activity was teaching English to Palestinians of ages between 4 and 33. I did this in the Fawwar refugee camp as well as at the Excellence Center in Hebron. In both places this was very rewarding, as my students were basically already happy that I was just there, and even more when we had interesting conversations that encouraged them to further practice their English skills. It became apparent that in many cases, the interaction with me was the first opportunity to practice especially their spoken skills outside of a classroom. Often this motivated them to continue learning and improving their abilities to have a conversation in English.

Arabic Lessons
The Arabic lessons with Marwa were not only helpful and practical, but moreover set in a motivating learning atmosphere=) As I was in a host family that spoke mainly Arabic, at the beginning of my stay of course I barely could understand anything if my host mom wouldn't translate it for me. As time went by and I continued learning Arabic with Marwa, I was so happy to realize that my Arabic skills were improving quite fast. On the one hand, this was because I was in an environment in which I was highly exposed to written and spoken Arabic, but on the other hand it also had to do with the fact that Marwa focussed on teaching me very helpful vocabulary and grammar that I could use immediately. A big *thank you* to Marwa for the interesting and very useful lessons, and the relaxed atmosphere that enhanced my learning curve!

Center's Environment
I feel so lucky while I am writing this, because literally everyone was nice, welcoming and eager to make me belong! I enjoyed hanging around with the staff and the international fellows so much that I would find myself long after the classes have ended still sitting at the Center and having interesting (and funny!) conversations, e.g. about Palestinian culture and everyday life, about funny aspects of the English and Arabic language, about life in Hebron and many topics more. Now that my stay is coming to an end, I am full of gratitude (and sadness...) as it feels as if I have an extended family in Hebron now - it includes all those who beautified my time at the Excellence Center.

Visits
The Excellence Center made possible many visits that were tailored to my interests and wishes - I am very grateful that so many doors were opened to enhance my knowledge and experience of Palestinian life in the West Bank. These included tours through the Old City of Hebron and the Ibrahimi Mosque as well as a kindergarden and community center in the Old City; an excursion to Ramallah; a tour through a women-only kitchen that supplies food to families and school canteens; experiencing the graduation party at a school for blind children; visiting the only Kufiyyah factory in the whole of Palestine; going on a hike to see Palestine's beautiful nature; giving a class at the Tanweer Center in Beit Ummar; and incredibly insightful excursions to the Law faculty at Hebron University and to the Chamber of Commerce in Hebron.
All of these visits enhanced my understanding of Palestinian life in the West Bank significantly and the open exchanges were incredibly insight- and fruitful!

Living with a host family
Eventhough I lived a bit outside of Hebron in a town close-by (about 20 minutes by car away), very early on I came to see it as a privilege: Firstly, I had more nature surrounding me and the commute to Hebron made for a nice division between "work time" and "leisure time." Secondly, I had a more nuanced experience of town-life and city-life, as there are slight differences between the two. In a nutshell, I got to see another layer of Palestinian life that would have otherwise been hidden. Most importantly, my host family was incredibly welcoming. From day one, I was part of the family, and this weren't empty words, but lived everyday experience. At the beginning, I had to adjust to the fact that being part of the family means also not having as much me-time as I was used to in Europe, yet I communicated that openly, as well as my vegetarianism. At first this was slightly frowned upon due to its unusual nature: "Me-time instead of us-time? And no meat? You are weird..." But as time progressed, so did the acceptance of my host family, and at visits to other family members they would even advocate for me and explain why I wouldn't eat meat. So I highly recommend being aware of your boundaries, setting them straight at the beginning and bringing along a notch of patience - sooner than later you'll enjoy your time as a family member and you won't want to leave.

Safety and Security in Palestine
As a lone woman in a foreign country you're always faced with the question of how safe it is being in the streets on your own. I have to say, here in Hebron there wasn't one incident in which I felt unsafe or menaced. Quite on the contrary people here are very courteous and eager to ensure you have a pleasant time. For unseasoned female travellers: As a woman that is noticeably from a different country, you will get looked at (briefly, but noticeably) when you walk on the streets. But this is due to the fact that tourists here are rare, and thus it is unusual to see foreigners. A male fellow international told us that he got looked at because he wore shorts, which is again a highly unusual thing here lol. I can say from my own experience that even these incidents are short, and of a friendly kind. Thus I wouldn't hesitate to recommend coming here and seeing for yourself how welcoming, kind the people here are - they're curious and grateful to get to know you.

What I liked most about Palestine
What I liked most about Palestine was definitely the people. The resilience and joy of the people I have met here is impressive and heartwarming at the same time. The sense of gratitude that I got from so many acquaintances about me being here and wanting to know more about Palestinian life was so overwhelming. Often I felt unreasonably special, but I quickly learned that this stems from a culture in which hospitality is a high, if not the highest virtue and I felt this every day I spent here. I am very grateful to having gained so many new, interesting, and honest friendships and already look forward to - insha'Allah - coming soon again!

My favorite experience in Palestine
There were so many nice incidents during my time here! One of the funniest was when my fellow international friend Sheila and I gave our last class in the Fawwar refugee camp. We thought of having a nice game of musical chairs and every time someone would lose a round, they had to make a sentence in English with a given noun, verb, and adjective. Everyone took each round so serious and truly wanted to get a seat, it was hilarious and we had so much fun while actually learning English!

Recommendation
My time here is unforgettable, so many doors to places and people's hearts were opened thanks to the Excellence Center. If you are interested in more than just a superficial tourist-y glimpse, I highly recommend coming here and taking part in Palestinian everyday life according to your interests and wishes. Not only will you be warmly welcomed, but moreover contribute to lasting learning experiences - the local's, the internationals', and your own.