Why do volunteers and foreign Arabic students choose Palestine? It is fair to say that there are few options when you plan to go and learn the Arabic language and the complex culture that surrounds it. In the Middle-East, there are a few options Lebanon, Jordan and last but not least Palestine. They all have in common the formal Arabic and often have their own version: a local dialect. One dialect that seems to attract students is the Palestinian Arabic. It is interesting to hear about the thought process  of those students who chose the EC Centre in Hebron.

Océane says “I come from France and I have studied Classical Arabic at University. I decided I needed to further improve my Arabic and the only way was to go on a total immersion program. I did some research and considered various options like Lebanon, Egypt, Syria even. I decided that it was important for me to have a host family during my stay to force me to speak Arabic and also keep my budget down. I found that Palestine was by far the cheapest place to learn Arabic and I found the EC, one of the only organisation that provides host families. I have to say that I am really delighted with the whole experience. As the course is slowly coming to its end, I am reflecting on what memories I will keep from Palestine, it is above all of a people kind, generous, open-minded and always with a smile on their faces.

Vilma from Finland says “In Finland, I have worked with refugees for the Red Cross, I was involved in organising activity clubs for Arabic women. This inspired me to find out more about the Middle East. I also think that Arabic is going to be a very important language in the future so I started looking for an Arabic course in an interesting country, that´s when I decided on Palestine. I am a journalist so I thought I could combine a language trip with some volunteering there. I came across the Excellence Centre on the internet and saw that they had very good reviews and everything about them gave me “good vibes”.  So, I signed up for a volunteering course teaching journalism + Arabic classes. It is challenging because I am not a teacher but I enjoy sharing my experience with the students and I also learn a lot from them. They are the one who will shape the future of their country so it is extremely important they learn “the tricks of the trade”: How to use Social Media? How to stay objective in their report of the news? How to maximise impact without compromising content? etc.. After about 2 months at the centre, I am about to leave and it is with sadness because this has been my home and I can´t wait to come back in´shallah!  

Jasmijn from Holland says that she has been to Palestine before so it was a natural choice for her to return when she decided to learn Arabic. “I had started to learn written Arabic on my own with videos and books but I was missing the spoken part so knowing Palestine was a safe country on the whole it made sense to come back. I googled “Arabic courses in Palestine” and I came across the EC, their website has lots of videos of previous volunteers from all around the world explaining their experience. It helped me a lot to decide as I couldn´t find videos or pictures in some of the other centres in Hebron. I have had some very special moment at the EC and especially with my host family. Someone from the centre told me once you come to Palestine, you make plans to come back… that´s my case I have already booked my next trip ☺