“I work full-time and was not able to take a regular course so I opted for private instruction. This worked out best for me and I recommend this to those with inflexible schedules. Rafat, the center director and founder, is one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

I had some basic Arabic and he was able to construct lessons that suited my progress. Because I came during the New Year’s holiday there weren’t other students to interact with, but Halle is a very nice city with great cafes and a good arts movie theatre.

I lived with a refugee family so the accommodations were fine but if you are looking for a 5-star hotel this isn’t it. I had my own room in a small apartment in which a mom and her 17-year-old son were living. Shared bathroom.

There were ample times to interact with them and over the holidays she had many refugee friends over and that was quite interesting. Rafat also organizes cultural programs in the afternoon where you can interact with other Arab speakers.”