“I am taking part in the Arabic Language program for a month. I am very interested in the Palestinian culture, as well as the history of Palestine. In the Netherlands, all news and information about Israel and Palestine tend to be quite limited and biased on the Israeli side, so that is why I would like to come to Palestine and see your beautiful country and culture for myself. Also, I would like to learn the Levantine dialect, since in my voluntary work in the Netherlands I interact with a lot of Syrian refugees.
I will be focusing on studying Arabic, and hopefully meeting a lot of people, and interacting with them. I would love to really get to know the city and the surrounding Palestinian cities. I am willing to help in any way I can. I am not a native English speaker, but I am fluent, so I might help with some activities if I can. I would like to get to know some of the English students at the Centre and do a language exchange where they speak English and I speak Arabic.
I hope my stay at the Excellence centre will enrich me as a person, both by giving me the opportunity to interact with people in Arabic, and also by learning a lot about the Palestinian culture. I am interested in working with refugees, and thus speaking Arabic would be a big asset for my future aspirations. Also, I am a religious studies major so staying in an Islamic country, also during Ramadan, will be a great experience.
