By Franziska Bone

During the two weeks program we made an excursion during the morning and evening while we spent the noon at the university having lunch and holding training workshops for the Palestinian students. It was great opportunity for us to give such training workshops because it gave us the chance to get to know the students and discuss a lot of subjects with them.

The trips we did included political places and places you couldn´t think of as a tourist. We saw a lot of the things which are debated in the conflict between Israel and Palestine. We visited demolished houses and heard the stories from their owners or their families. Houses can get demolished if a person commits a crime and the punishment is sometimes also extended to their families. Also we had lectures about the conflict and the effects of the check points and the settlements. There are water shortages and some people lost their land or can´t access it anymore. We visited Qalqylya city which is surrounded by walls and checkpoints where people have to wait at the checkpoints to reach their lands. We also made a trip to Hebron city where we could see that the Israelis´ settlements are directly inside the city center. Therefore they closed these parts of the town down and they look now like a ghost town.

We also visited other interesting places like the newly established city of Rawabi which is funded by private investors and will offer luxury apartments. Also made a trip to Bethlehem city where we visited the Church of Nativity. Besides that we made trips to small towns surrounding Nablus where we could also visit people in their homes and were invited for snacks where we saw a traditional Palestinian wedding. We spent time in a restaurant or in a water park with the local volunteers.

The best thing for me was to get an insight into another culture and into people’s daily lives. The People were very welcoming and took care of us. Besides the coordinators there were local volunteers who also joined on trips and who were very eager to make our stay enjoyable. at the university and during the training workshops there were a lot of students who want to talk to you and get to know you. There were always students eager to show you around or to help you if you need anything. The Palestinian students were very interested in exchange and in learning about foreign countries. For me it was nice to see that the students care about the same things as we do and that we have a lot of similar interests. I was curious about a lot of things and it was great to see how people here spend their time and to see their daily lives. Participating in the camp was a great experience for me and I learned a lot about the Palestinian culture. I can highly recommend travelling to Palestine and participating in the camp because you will learn a lot.