(Non-)Intensive Arabic Program EC in Palestine

I came to the Ecxellence Center to do the none-intensive Arabic program (2 hours per day) for almost 3 months. Studying Arabic, especially the Shami dialect, has been my project for a few years now, therefore I felt the need to expose myself to an Arabic speaking environment again. When I decided to go to Hebron, I got a lot of curious reactions from my Arabic friends who asked me, why I would go to the city, which is famous for its sometimes amusing called dialect. But during my time here I got to love that dialect, that in my opinion differs from the other regional dialects mainly in the expressive pronunciation of letters and words. For me that makes a lot of sense since the people here are as expressive as their way of speaking.

The hospitality of the people in Hebron is incredible, they are eager to welcome you in their life and in their culture. That ensures not only daily interesting conversations with a lot of new people but also the feeling of safety any day- or nighttime. Compared to other cities, European or Arabic, I felt very safe and positive, that there are always people around, who would love to help me with whatever concerns I would have.

During my time in Hebron, I spent a lot of my time in the Excellence Center, which provides next to the daily breakfast, classes and activities a nice place to just hang out and meet all the interesting people, both locals and foreigners, with their interesting stories and biographies. I gained a lot from the daily exchange of experiences, stories, thoughts and views and in addition to the instructive program planned out by the Center, the conversations to others helped me to reflect on my own experiences. The familiar atmosphere at the Center made it easy for me, to feel at home and to even build new friendships. The daily Arabic classes with my super competent teacher helped me to get the most out of my time here and improve my Arabic in a way I could never manage from home.

As a woman I lived with a host family, where I shared my room with another woman. In general, that ensures not only language practice but also an authentic experience on Palestinian hospitality and family life. Of course every family is different and living with one sometimes requires good communication about personal needs and boundaries. But the Excellence Center is very helpful when it comes to improving living conditions and I experienced, that they try their best to make us as comfortable as possible and respect our needs and wishes.

Spending time in Hebron, at the Excellence Center, is a great opportunity for gaining other perspectives, learning so much about a very relevant part of the world, meeting nice and interesting people, eating good food and improving the own ability to adapt to new circumstances and to learn more flexibility, for example when it comes to schedules. I can just recommend to everyone to go to Hebron, to see for him- or herself, to be curious and open minded, because the experience will be worth it.