Meet David our American Volunteer in Palestine “Our daily activities included a cross between teaching English in Palestine, sight-seeing in Hebron, and socializing at the Excellence Center. I was brought here with the expectation to find out more about Palestinian culture and to teach. One tends to hear a lot of negative things in the news when it comes to Palestinians. And as a Pentecostal Christian, I have had limited exposure to the Muslim and even less within Muslim culture. I did not personally find religious differences offensive but more an opportunity to share, both culture and religion.
Teaching English
My specific teaching responsibilities were mainly focused on teaching English but also on teaching technology and computer items. I was able to teach one technology class with the help of my wife and a nice young lady from Sweden. We covered English terms for computers and technology. Many of the students were quite involved (and knowledgeable). I did not get to teach a lot of technology but we did visit Palestine Polytechnic University where I made contact with staff, including the profession of technology (which I plan to follow up with soon). I also helped my wife teach English at two secondary schools for girls and one for boys. The students there were very excited to see us and asked many questions about culture and language.
Safety in Hebron
We have been feeling safe all week long. We were concerned about the potential for violence with the Israeli elections this week. While we did hear a lot of noise in the distance the night before elections but there was nothing anywhere in our area and our host family was most accommodating. Earlier in the week (Sunday) we visited the cave of the patriarchs and the Ibrahimi Mosque and heard about an attack on Palestinians in 1994 and also more recent violence against Palestinians around the closed-off street going into the Israeli settlement (guess violence is a two-way street). Our tour went very quietly and the main concern there was probably getting out of there before the street vendors and children entrepreneurs had us spend all of our money on souvenirs!
Glass/ceramic factory and a fabric manufacturing in Hebron
We also got to see a glass/ceramic factory and a fabric manufacturing facility where we bought some nice souvenirs. We were able to walk around on the main streets and sight-see for ourselves and even visited a local KFC for some fried chicken, as well as do some window shopping.
Final remarks
Actually, the people were almost over-board on friendliness. We were invited to dinner multiple times. We shared tea and/or coffee multiple times a day. The other volunteers (who mostly spoke English) tended to bring us a bit of home life. The staff tried to teach us some Arabic but we did not pick up much. When I accidentally dropped 50 shekels out of my pack later in the week at a cultural festival at PolyTech someone pointed out my drop to ensure I did not lose the money. We enjoyed the festival where I saw (mostly young) people enjoying food, culture, and technology innovations. I don’t think I saw any mad or angry faces the whole time I have been here.”
Btw: Weather here in the springtime is gorgeous. Nights can be cool so dress appropriately.
