Participating in the Excellence Center’s international programs for interns, Study Arabic participants, and volunteers will give you a unique, and a once-in-a-lifetime experience that will enrich your personal and career paths.
-EDUCATIONAL AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES: Excellence Center organizes various educational activities such as conversational day, English clubs, employability skills, summer and winter camps as well as community development activities like food day, site visits, murals and sport activities, which are all targeted at reaching and engaging Palestinian youth.
– FUTURE CAREERS: Adding the Excellence Center Study Arabic, internship and volunteer experience to your resume will make you, most certainly, stand out from the crowd.
– UNIVERSITY CREDIT: University students can arrange with their schools to obtain course credit as a result of studying Arabic, interning and volunteering with the Excellence Center.
– SOCIAL IMMERSION: Living in Hebron stretches you beyond your own particular culture. You will directly participate in the life of the city and its citizens. Every effort is made to include you in the social fabric of Hebron life (such as wedding celebrations!), and you will be invited into homes for tea, coffee, lunch or dinner. Hospitality is truly the hallmark of Palestinian life! In the process of engaging in these activities, you will form friendships and relationships that you can take home with you.
– POLITICS: You will see for yourself, up close and personal, the current political situation in Hebron and Palestine. You will see for yourself the Old City’s status. You will learn the extent of Israeli control and experience for yourself the process of passing through checkpoints, identification checks, and living “under occupation”. Visits to refugee camps will acquaint you with the plights of thousands and their suffering.
– FIELD TRIPS: The Excellence Center organizes field trips to a variety of sites, such as factories, companies, schools, refugee camps, archaeological sites, landmarks within and without the city, as well as towns and villages outside of Hebron. These field trips offer perspectives of local life from a variety of vantage points.
– PALESTINIAN ARABIC: Your social immersion will also be your language immersion. You will have the opportunity to study with a competent Arabic tutor three hours weekly, in addition to practicing your Arabic on a day-in, day-out basis. Language and culture are inextricably mixed.
– HOST FAMILIES: Arabic students, interns and volunteers who stay with Host Families have the unique opportunity to become one of the family. As a family member, you will, first-hand, experience customs and traditions that will deepen and enrich your whole Excellence Center experience.