My Human Rights Program

My name is Natasha, I am from Britain. I am currently doing an Accounting and Finance degree. I took part in the human rights project whilst here in Hebron.
Activities I did whilst at the Excellence Centre include taking Arabic lessons, visiting villages around Hebron on trips and visiting organisations
My Arabic lessons were really good, Anas is a great teacher. I think I have lacked the confidence to speak a lot of Arabic, but the next two weeks I spend travelling in Palestine I will really try and work on in (I have a lot of notes to work from). I think I can understand a bit, as when I’m with the host family they repeat a lot of things, so they’ve stuck.
The staff and the teachers are great and really welcoming. The teachers particularly are really friendly and ... The students here are lovely and are really open and friendly and want to engage with the volunteers. The other volunteers are great too, and we all get on really well and often go out for lunch or in the evenings for food, and at the weekends too. This really helps as it makes the experience much easier when there’s a feeling of belonging with the other volunteers.
The site visits I took part in include meeting the manager from the Commission Detainees Affairs, going to the Hebron Chamber of Commerce, a visit to talk to the artist Rani, visiting a school near the centre to talk about how education is affected particularly in H2, a visit to the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, trip to Masafer Yata and a visit to a couple of other villages nearby. I also took part in a political and human right tour one day with an activist from outside the organisation, but who was introduced to us by the Excellence Centre.¬¬¬
The other places I’ve visited in Palestine are Ramallah and Jericho, though I have a bit of time after this to explore more places.
I have definitely felt very safe being in Palestine. Palestinian people are so lovely and welcoming, and I felt very safe.
What I like most about Palestine, well I love the people here, everyone is so hospitable. Everyone is so friendly, everywhere we have been, people have offered us coffee and often some food, even just fruit. The food too is amazing here, and I love the mint tea too.
One of my favourite experiences was when we went to Jericho and the bus driver from Hebron offered to give us a full tour of Jericho, for an extra 30 shekels each which was a great deal. We had a great day with him, went to the dead sea and all the main places in Jericho and he dropped us all off at our houses on the way back, and invited us around to his for dinner the next evening, which was delicious and a great example of Palestinian Hospitality.
The lasting impression I’m going to have when I leave is how great the people are, particularly my host family who have been amazing.
I’ve had a very good experience and will definitely recommend to other people.