Trip To Palestine: Culture & Daily Life

My name is Dan Frank, and I am from Washington D.C. United States of America. I hold two Degrees, a Bachelor of Science in International Business with a minor in Japanese Studies. Also hold an advance degree in Information Technology Management.

I arrived at Hebron, West Bank, Palestine on August 10th and was here approximately three weeks. When I arrived at The Excellent Center, I was immediately welcomed with friendly greetings. Everyone at the center introduced themselves and was interested in speaking to me.

The Excellent Center had an eight day travel plan to Bethlehem, Ramallah, Jericho, The Dead Sea, and many places throughout Hebron including the Old City. We also had the opportunity to meet with three families that shared with me life in Palestine. They were very generous serving us drinks and food. The hospitality is amazing here in Palestine. I have made many long lasting friendships during my time here in Palestine.

In addition to traveling, I volunteered to help teach English to children in the Village of Beit Ummar. There we were once again invited to a family's house for delicious lunch and refreshments. Myself and the other volunteer received gifts.

Living in Hebron is an amazing experience, the people are so kind and friendly. As an international person I was welcomed by everyone, even on the streets, many people wanted to speak with me as well as take pictures. It was such a wonderful feeling. One word most people in Hebron know is "Welcome."

Having been here for almost three weeks, I have walked the streets of Hebron many times day and night and felt completely safe, not once ever feeling the sense of danger.

All volunteers, both local and international were wonderful, once again I have made so long lasting friendships here, both Palestinians and internationals.

During my time here, I also took Arabic lessons. My teacher was very kind and patient with me during our seasons. I now have an interest in learning more Arabic.

The things I like most about Palestine is the warm kind hospitality I received from everyone. I was always welcomed everywhere I traveled all through the West Bank as well as my base town of Hebron.

The Excellent Center here in Hebron and a life changing experience. I loved every moment and will cherish these memories for the rest of the life. I highly recommend The Excellent Center to anyone who wants to visit Palestine. They will take care of you throughout your journey here in Palestine. I will most certainly return to Palestine in the future.

In closing I want to say thank you Excellence Center!

Sincerely,

Dan Frank

When I saw the Excellence Center was hosting a trip throughout the West Bank in Palestine, I immediately researched the Excellence Center and read the positive reviews. I then contacted the center and started coordinating my plans to visit Palestine. It was one of the best travel decisions I have ever made.

Being an advit traveler and a Palestinian activist, this was the perfect trip and experience for me. I got to see some of the most amazing places, Hebron, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah, Jericho and the Mediterranean and Dea Sea among other places. It was absolutely amazing!!! We traveled with folks from the center as well as international friends we made, again, I can't recommend this trip enough. It is a must for anyone really wanting to see Palestine and not the typical Israeli tour. I extended my trip to three weeks, which I used to travel to additional places, volunteer my help and learn basic Arabic.

Sadly this must be said, with perpetual media vilification and demonization of Palestinians, and the anti-Arab propaganda that has conditioned the majority of the western world to view Palestinians in a negative light, this is definitely the trip for you.

Having spent three weeks there with the folks at the Excellence Center as well as all the wonderful international people, you will meet the kindest and experience hospitality like no other - and no doubt have the time of your life.

In wrapping, once again, I want to stress how highly I recommend exploring as much of the West Bank as you can, especially Hebron, Old City Hebron and diverse yourself in the Palestinian culture and be sure to spend loads of time with the local people, you will see an amazing thing, some of the kindest and amazing people you will ever meet. 😊❤️🇵🇸

I would definitely recommend the study abroad program at the Excellence Center in Hebron Palestine. I was treated with kindness and felt so welcomed. The Excellence Center helped me through every step of the way with providing detailed information about the process, the application and the getting there. Everyone at the Center were so nice and friendly and knowledgeable. My host family was amazing I felt like I was staying with family they cooked delicious Palestinian food I love them. I had the chance to experience real life in Palestine and learn Arabic from classes, trips and daily life experience. If you want to come to Palestine a safe and magical place do it through the Excellence Center they will go out of their way to make your stay a perfect one!!

I accidentally came across the Excellence Centre during a web search when I was planning a visit to the Middle East so as to improve my fledgling knowledge of Arabic. I was intrigued by the possibility of both learning Arabic and engaging in voluntary work in Palestine and decided to spend my Christmas holiday in Hebron. I have not regretted my choice.

During the first part of my visit I studied Arabic for three hours a day, during the second part I engaged in voluntary work with shorter Arabic lessons. I feel I made a great deal of progress with my knowledge of Arabic during a short period of time. This is largely due to the excellent teaching I received at the Centre. My teacher Sheyma introduced a lot of variety into the lessons, alternating grammar exercises with speaking activities and reading texts. I particularly appreciated having discussions with her about current affairs and learning a lot of vocabulary in the process.

Doing voluntary work was an opportunity to contribute to the education of Palestinian students. One of my activities was to assist students in composing a cv in English. It was a pleasure to see how the students engaged with the group activities organised by the volunteers and see how, during the course of two hours, their understanding about the contents and structure of a cv developed and increased.

In the evenings I always received a warm welcome from my host family who not only helped me with my Arabic, but also introduced me to a delicious variety of Palestinian dishes. It is the norm for female students at the Excellence Centre to stay with host families, enabling them to experience life in Palestine in a way that is not open to tourists.

The staff at the Centre are very helpful and take great care to ensure that students feel comfortable and learn about Palestinian history and culture. They organise visits within Hebron, such as to the old city or to a glass blowing factory, where skills going back to the Roman period are still practised. A particular highlight of my stay in Hebron was an excursion to the Dead Sea organised by staff from the Excellence Centre. On our way to the Dead Sea we stopped at the Mar Saba Monastery and a caravanserai containing, according to Muslim belief, the remains of Moses. Once on the shores of the Dead Sea we organise a splendid barbecue on the shores of the Dead Sea accompanied by dancing and smoking the shisha.

On my last day of Arabic classes my teacher took me to have breakfast in one of the famous eateries of the city. Whilst I had enjoyed fatteh - a dish consisting of bread mixed with strained yoghurt, chick peas, spices and olive oil - the fatteh I had in Hebron was probably the best I have ever eaten, not least because the added pine kernels gave it a particularly subtle flavour.

I will return home being able to look back at ten days with my knowledge of Arabic increased and full of memorable experiences.

I can highly recommend the Trip to Palestine organized by the Excellence center. I gained a thorough insight in the Palestinian life and their daily struggles. In my opinion it is almost impossible to feel and understand the situation Palestinians live in when you haven’t visited the West Bank yourself. Therefore, this trip is a great opportunity if you want to comprehend the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its consequences.

For me, the most impressive part of the trip was the visit to the bedouin village Susiya. For decades Palestinian bedouins have been living on their land in the village, even before the first Jews came to Israel. Currently, the village is being threatened by Jewish settlers who built a settlement close to the village. It was impressive to hear the stories of the bedouins en sharing dinner with them. If you travel on your own to the West Bank and you are not fluent in Arabic (like me) it is impossible to do such a visit to Susiya and to talk with the inhabitants. I’m very grateful that our great guides Rafat and Osama took us to Susiya and many other interesting places.

Furthermore, being received with open heart by the Palestinian host family was very memorable. We celebrated Eid during my visit and the family took us with them to their relatives and made us part of the special holiday. I was amazed by the generosity and joyfulness of the Palestinian people. Even after everything they have been through they made me feel very welcome.

The Excellence Center is doing great work in Hebron and they are very well-organized. Our trip was perfectly prepared and we had very interesting and full schedules. Before I went on the trip I was a little concerned about the security situation in the West Bank. However, I haven’t felt unsafe for a single moment and the organization takes very good care of the participants. Therefore, I can truly recommend everyone to join the Trip to Palestine!

My trip to Palestine was one of the most daring, but one of the most exciting trips I ever made. The center took us across the country and always made sure we felt safe. Every sightseeing visit was followed by a political discussion with real residents who shared their personal stories. That sort of insight and the connection made with the people is truly irreplaceable. Being housed with Palestinian families ensured our exposure to the language and cultural traits, and made the difference between being a 'tourist' and being a temporary resident. The families are as nice as can be, always caring and excited to spend time with you. No textbook comes even close to seeing the consequences of the conflict with your own eyes, and you will easily make friends with participants who are just as fun and intellectually interested.