Arrive in Palestine.

You've just landed in a foreign nation with your suitcase rolling noisily across the airport floor. Your volunteering adventure has begun, offering you the chance to develop professionally while also becoming fully immersed in a fascinating and foreign culture. Your first choice is presented to you outside in the warm sunlight. Will you face the public transit system to see the local way of life, or will you use a rideshare to conveniently get to your lodging? Your experience will be shaped in ways you cannot yet fathom by the decisions you make from now on.

Choice 1 : Take rideshare.

Choice 2 : Take public transportation.

Take public transportation.

You have decided to take public transport to get to your home. The people are welcoming and help you find your bearings so you can get off at the stop that corresponds to your destination. One of them is your roommate, who’s also volunteering for the same organization as you, and y’all became instant friends.

Choice 1 : Learn Arabic.

Take rideshare.

The people you boarded with took a route that took you away from your initial destination. You had to walk for 20 minutes.

Choice 1 : Learn Arabic.

Learn Arabic.

When you arrive in the neighborhood, you suddenly feel a little hungry, but you know very well that your neighbours only speak Arabic. This situation makes you realize that you must double down to learn at least the good basics of this dialect. In this case, two ideas come to mind: you learn with your roommate or enroll in a school specializing for people in your situation.

Choice 1 : Learn with your roommate.

Choice 2 : Learn in a specialized school.

Get used to live in a foreign country.

A few weeks pass, and you feel confident enough to go to the supermarket to do your grocery shopping alone. You see a crowd of kids gathered close to a street entertainer as you enter the busy market with your bag slung over your shoulder. You approach because you're drawn to the music, only to discover that the performer is an old man who has lost his hat to the wind. You quickly move forward without thinking and manage to catch it before it falls into the crowded street. The man's face lights up with astonishment as he turns. Taking the hat from you, he chuckles and remarks, "You have quick reflexes." At that moment, he offers you a tambourine but also offers to teach you a traditional Palestinian dance called "dabke" and asks you to come up on the little stage with him. You pause, you hesitate between going up on the little stage with him or going back to your errands..

Choice 1 : Learn the Dabke

Choice 2 : Go back to errands.

First day of volunteering.

Your first day of volunteering has arrived. Feverish, you and your roommate are going to college where you are going to give information sessions concerning the areas of work in the business but also private lessons to those who are in need. When you arrive at college, you realize that you have forgotten your notebook with all the necessary information that you are going to share with the young people. You panic and don't know what to do. Three options are presented to you: Either you return home to collect the notebook, you ask your roommate for these notes to summarize them, or the last option is improvisation.

Choice 1 : Go back home.

Choice 2 : Only do private lessons.

Choice 3 : Take your roommate’s notes.

Choice 4 : Improvisation.

Improvisation.

You assume the consequences of forgetting your notebook, and you improvise. Surprisingly, you did well; the students understood the information you wanted to give them, and they were happy with the resources you were able to send them.

Choice 1 : The end of the adventure.

The end of the adventure.

Your volunteer time is coming to an end; you have been giving private lessons every day to students in need. You consider how much you've changed as a person and as a volunteer by the end of your six months in Palestine. Once slow and unconfident, your early attempts at Arabic have evolved into confident conversations in stores, classes, and vibrant dinner parties with locals. In addition to learning a third language, you have developed a greater comprehension of Palestinian culture, history, and resiliency through your weekly language exchanges with your roommate. You've become at ease at using conversational Arabic for greetings, inquiries, and even jokes, which has helped you gain the confidence of people around you.

Choice 1 : Start again.

Learn with your roommate.

You decide to learn the basics from your roommate. He teaches you the simplest basics, like “Marhaba,” which means welcome or “shoukran,” which means thank you. This learning situation allows you to build a deeper bond with your roommate.

Choice 1 : Get used to live in a foreign country.

Learn in a specialized school.

You sign up for the intensive learning training, but it is much too fast for you, and you can't keep up with the pace the class is following. You feel more stressed, and you have the impression that you are putting aside your main mission, which is volunteering.

Choice 1 : Learn with your roommate.

Learn the "Dabke" with the old man.

The audience supports you, and before you know it, you're moving to the beat, the universal language of music, overcoming all barriers. The kids chuckle, and you feel a sense of connection growing stronger as the moment unfolds, completely unexpected but unforgettable.

Choice 1 : First day of volunteering.

Go back to errands.

You chose to withdraw from the crowd in the small alley to continue your errands at the supermarket. The old gentleman was disappointed but respected your choice to continue your plans for the day and invited you to come learn to dance with him another day.

Choice 1 : First day of volunteering.

Go back home.

You decide to run home because it saves you time. However, when you arrive home, you realize that you forgot your keys in your school bag that you left at college. What are you doing? You go running again, hoping to arrive on time to get your keys, or you only do the private lessons.

Choice 1 : You run back to get your keys

Choice 2 : You only do private lessons

You run back to get your keys.

You decide to run again to get your keys, but when you arrive at school, you are full of sweat, and that doesn't give you a good first impression.

Choice 1 : First day of volunteering.

Private lessons.

You decide to come back to school and only do private lessons since you don't have your information book. No one asks questions, and on the contrary, you get to know other volunteers who come from other countries.

Choice 1 : The end of the adventure.

Roommate's notes.

You take your roommate's notes to make a summary, but you realize that everything is written in Arabic, so you don't understand anything.

Choice 1 : Improvisation.