Intensive Arabic Program

My name is William and I am from Canada. I spent one month at the Excellence Center doing the intensive Arabic program. This meant that for three and a half hours a day, from 08.30 to 12.00 I had lessons on 3miyyeh Arabic. I was in a group with one other boy who was at my level, and once he left it was essentially one-on-one lessons. I have found the lessons very helpful, as not only are we in the middle east but also the teachers know a lot on the subject and were always eager to supply words and materials outside the course. Inside the Center was a wonderful environment because everyone is there for similar reasons. It was a good environment to study, or even simply sit in the sun and talk about hat adventures we had been on.

After lessons I would often tag along with the other programs, and most often this meant going to refugee camps or visiting humanitarian groups inside of Hebron. Not only would we get lectures on a wide range of topics from experts, but also would have opportunities to go on trips around the West Bank. Most notably, we went on a trip to the Mar Saba Monastery as well as to Bethlehem. These more ‘fun’ trips were great for building up friendships with other students, with whom I am keeping in touch with after I leave.
On the weekends there is also easy access to the rest of the West Bank and Jordan by means of the service system. Jerusalem is only an hour away, and it’s not uncommon for people to arrange travel together. I personally went to Ramallah, Nablus, and Jerusalem with other students and had a wonderful time.
Hebron is a noisy but peaceful city. It doesn’t have quite the charm that Jerusalem or Bethlehem has, but because tourists are much more uncommon the people are welcoming and always eager to help. It’s not uncommon to be walking along the street when someone starts talking to you, then after a few hours you get invited to a wedding or some other function. Hebron is also quite a safe city, relatively speaking. While the traffic here is certainly dubious, I have never once felt in danger in H1, and even H2 is relatively safe so long as you handle yourself well.

I very strongly recommend the intensive Arabic program here at the Center to almost anyone, and I have had nothing but good experiences.