Meet Lucy From The UK Who Volunteered In Palestine : “My name is Lucy, and I’m a History of Art student from the UK, living in Hebron as a volunteer English teacher for a month. As my time at the Excellence Centre draws to a close, I can reflect back on the amazing experiences I have had, as well as the friendships and understanding I have gained along the way.

Primarily, I spent my days teaching beginner English classes, both as a teaching assistant in the Excellence Centre itself, and with another volunteer in a village on the outskirts of Hebron. These classes, whilst daunting at first – never having been faced with a classful of young student with limited English before, blossomed into hours spent with young people who not only had an appetite for learning that I’ve never experienced before, but were also eager to engage in conversation about their lives and culture outside the classroom; whether when walking me to the bus back to Hebron, or giving me directions when I bumped into them in the street.

The atmosphere at the centre really gelled the experience together – the kitchen at the centre of the building was rarely empty, and the mountain of bread and hummus provided for breakfast never failed to help the volunteers recover from the late Palestinian bedtimes (complete with regular coffee breaks at 1am if you’re brave enough…).

Not only are the staff at the Excellence Centre overwhelmingly welcoming, they provide an excellent insight into Palestinian daily life, and the politics of Hebron. I attended a tour of the Old City by a teacher at the centre, and was lucky enough to not only visit the Ibrahimi mosque, but also a house of a local living in the Old City, and hear his stories about the occupation, and a true taste of what Palestinian life in Hebron involves.

Every weekend I made it my mission to travel somewhere new in Palestine; and have amassed a series of barely believable adventures from Bethlehem to the Dead Sea, and will leave the Excellence Centre with not only photographs and souvenirs, but also lifelong friendships from all over the world.

I could not have wished for a better host family to spend the month with – from being welcomed into their home as family from the first day, and taken to graduation parties and picnics, and treated like a true ‘Khalili’ (Hebronite). They made sure that the Arabic lessons I had at the centre – which provided me with the grammar and language I needed to get by in day-to-day life, was enriched by daily vocab lessons from my various host siblings – meaning that I can now talk about football, food, and cats in great detail…but not a whole lot else.

The one thing I will miss most about Hebron, other than the friends that I have made, is the attention I received on the street. Not negative attention in any way, but the locals that go out of their way to welcome internationals, and find out more about where they are from through genuine interest – I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been invited into shops or homes, or given coffee on the street, by people genuinely wanting to get to know me, and help me have the best experience possible.
I would recommend the Excellence Centre to anyone who wants to see Hebron, and Palestine as a whole, from a genuine local perspective, who is willing to immerse themselves completely in another culture – and definitely anyone who is up for an adventure.”