“The main purpose of my visit to the Excellence Center is to exchange languages, culture which. I believe is crucial between the Arab world and the West perhaps now more than ever, to interact and get to know both our differences as well as our similarities.. Moreover, a good education significantly enlarges the possibilities of people to understand other cultures and differing points of view.
Another reason for my visit is that I am incredibly interested in the way of life in an occupied region and surprisingly, this has very much been a positive experience. The history and culture of Palestine is extremely complex and fascinating and this alone, in my opinion, is enough of a reason to visit Palestine.
My family background was also a good motivation. My parents are originally from Morocco, though I was born and raised in Holland so I have sometimes felt that I haven’t experienced fully the Arabic part of my heritage. For example I have not learnt the Arabic language to the full extent that I would have liked to.. Last year therefore, I took Modern Standard Arabic lessons as a minor at the University of Groningen. I learned a lot, however you need keep on practicing the language. This reflects well on the reason that I believe the Excellence Center is doing an amazing job, connecting Palestinians with other nationalities in order to create opportunities for the Palestinians to practice their English as well for me to practice my Arabic.
Additionally, I want to contribute to my education to the educated and open minded Palestinians as much as I am able to. In my opinion it is mutually beneficial. The children have the opportunity to practice more, while foreigners experience the actual Palestinian people and their daily life. In the short time I have been in Palestine I have felt like I have learned so much. My host family is incredibly friendly and made me feel at home immediately. I enjoy every moment and cannot wait to interact and share my knowledge.
Lastly, I would like to say that I really want to encourage others to experience the real Palestine not the one that is shown in the media”. Ines Slimi from the Netherlands who is participating in the Volunteer in Palestine Program summer 2015
