My Experience in Palestine

My name is Nico, and I am from the U.S., where I am currently pursuing my master’s degree in
Middle Eastern Studies. Here at the Excellence Center, I was part of the Women’s Rights and
Human Rights volunteer program for two weeks, which consisted of visiting local human rights
and women’s rights organizations in order to learn about the work they were doing and the
challenges that they faced.
While I was here, I also took some Arabic lessons, which I found helpful and appropriate for my
level. I knew some Arabic before coming, so the lessons were focused on getting me to speak
more in conversation, and to fill in words and phrases specific to Palestine and Hebron that I
hadn’t learned anywhere else. In all, they were exactly what I had hoped they would be when I
signed up.
The staff, other students, and everyone involved at the Center were incredibly welcoming,
friendly, and helpful. Any time I needed help finding an ATM, an open restaurant, or how to take
a trip to a different city– I could ask others and they would happily give me the information I
needed (or point me in the direction of someone who would know). People in Hebron were also
very friendly and welcoming– every day I would be greeted by “Hi! Welcome to Hebron!” as I
walked past people. I felt very safe in Palestine, as people may have been surprised by the
presence of a tourist, but often went out of their way to see if I needed help or advice. I never
felt unwelcome or uncomfortable in Palestine or in Hebron.
With the center, I visited areas around Hebron and took a bus trip with many other students and
teachers to Mar Saba Monastery near Bethlehem, one of the oldest still active churches in
existence, to the village of Bitar, where we sat in the natural park and visited the roman bath and
pool, and to the wall within the city of Bethlehem. By myself, I visited the Old City of Jerusalem,
Ramallah, and Bethlehem, where I saw the Church of the Nativity and many other historical
sites.
People in Palestine and at the center were incredibly welcoming and helpful. One of my favorite
stories was when I took a taxi to Bethlehem and the driver asked me if I liked arabic coffee. I

told him yes, not thinking much of it, but the next thing I knew we were pulled over on the side of
the road and he was buying me a cup of coffee and water. Like this experience, people here go
out of their way to help and to welcome you, and every day was a wonderful new experience
that I would suggest to others to take!