A Day In The Life Of a Volunteer in Palestine: Meet Bobby From New York: Planning to do volunteering but not really knowing what it´s all about? Bobby from New York, 23, is spending three months in Hebron studying Arabic and teaching English. He´s here to tell about his days in the Excellence Center.
The English teachers do one-on-one classes with a student as well as teach bigger groups. They also accompany teachers from the Excellence Center to assist on classes they give in schools and universities. The daily routine starts with a breakfast together with other volunteers and the EC staff. After that there can be either a class of teaching English, studying Arabic or assisting other teachers. The volunteers are only required to give two classes per week, each class two hours long.
”I was nervous at first about teaching. Would I have to spend a lot of time preparing the classes? Would I know how to do it? However I noticed very soon that there was nothing to worry about.”
Bobby started his volunteering by assisting on the classes of the other teachers. That´s how he learned quickly how the classes are and what to do. Gradually he was given more and more independent classes.
”At first I thought each class would have to follow a rigid structure. Very soon I noticed that, on the contrary, the classes are all about conversation. Planning for it really doesn´t take time. It is enough to make a brief list of topics before the class starts.”
The Excellence Center has about 100 local English students. Their level ranges from beginner to advanced.
”My students are very eager to learn. The hardest part of teaching has been the number of students who want to spend free time with me. All in all, teaching has been a great experience.”
Bobby´s tips for a future volunteer:
- Prepare your clothing both for warm and cold. The nights, mornings and evenings can be very cold especially during autumn and winter. Besides, there´s no heating in houses. However, the days can be surprisingly hot.
- Be respectful to your students and people but don´t give your social media to just everybody.
- Be prepared for people looking at you and talking to you on the streets. This can feel a bit intrusive but it´s not meant to be a bad thing – the locals are simply very curious about the few foreigners in the city.
- Inform yourself about the current political situation. You´ll get more out of your experience and understand the place better.
- Be prepared to bring spending money. It is true that Palestine is cheap, but money disappears easily on trips, taxis and small things.
