My Unforgettable Experience in Hebron with the Excellence Center

Hello! My name is Anne, I am 19, and I am from the Netherlands.
During my gap year I decided to stay with The Excellence Center in Hebron, Palestine, for a
month.
The programme I participated in was the Human Rights Programme and I helped out with
English Club.
I stayed here in April and the beginning of May. During my time in Hebron there were about
10 other volunteers and internationals, and I got to experience the second half of Ramadan
and Eid.
My hostfamily was super welcoming and warm. I arrived with 0 arabic, and the family barely
spoke English.
Nonetheless, my host mom put ‘we are one family now’ in google translate when I arrived,
which made me feel at home from the start.
I found it to be special to have Iftar with my family and to be brought along to family visits
during Eid.
Having community breakfast with other volunteers and staff at the center was always a nice
way to start the day.
After that I would have Arabic class, go on excursions to special sites or people, or have
English club.
Most days the schedule was quite chill, I’d often spend my late afternoons in one of the local
cafes with my friends to study Arabic together and have a nice hangout.
During the weekends, which were Fridays and Saturdays, I definitely recommend visiting
other cities in Palestine.
There are so many historical sites to see, like 8th century mosaic floors of a historical palace
in Jericho or the nativity church in Bethlehem.
Seeing other places has shown me the rich culture and different atmospheres across the
West bank.
While visiting Banksy or even just driving on the roads and seeing the settlements teaches
you the reality of occupation.
One thing that, from my experience, the different places in Palestine all have in common is
the warmth and kindness of the people.
Before coming here, most of my friends and family were worried about my safety and and
asked me why I had to go to Palestine, of all places.
However, from arrival onwards everyone has been so nice, and I have not had a moment
when I felt unsafe.
Everywhere you go people will greet you, say ‘welcome to Palestine!’ and help you when
needed.
I think I will experience a bit of a culture shock when I am back home, as Dutch people in
general are much more cold, and there won’t be coffee handed out in the supermarket.
My overall experience with the Excellence Center has been excellent. The staff and Arabic
teachers are kind and flexible. Hebron is a big city with lots of shops and stores and market
places. I got to try all kinds of new food, my personal favorite is knafeh.
I hope to be able to come back to Palestine soon in the future!