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Bc. Anna Smolíková, CTU Prague,
ročník 4About the country
Location of the place
Nablus is located around 50 kilometers north of Jerusalem, it's about one hour drive from the current administrative capital of Palestine Ramallah. The university has two campuses, old one closer to the city center and the old market and new one, where is also the research center.
City
Nablus is not that big but the new campus is bit off the city so you have to walk around half an hour to the market or use the shared public taxi service which is very convenient and works almost all the time (not that frequently during the holiday).
The city has an unique atmosphere - especially the old town, it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes but most of the time you will find it very charming. You can buy almost everything at the market and don't miss the falafel or kunafa, it's the best you can get anywhere.
In the evening you can go up to the "sky of nablus" for a picnic or smoke a hookah in one of many cafe in the city - I reccomend to explore as many as you can, you will meet lots of locals and get the authentic experience there.
The city has an unique atmosphere - especially the old town, it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes but most of the time you will find it very charming. You can buy almost everything at the market and don't miss the falafel or kunafa, it's the best you can get anywhere.
In the evening you can go up to the "sky of nablus" for a picnic or smoke a hookah in one of many cafe in the city - I reccomend to explore as many as you can, you will meet lots of locals and get the authentic experience there.
Surroundings (possible trips, ...)
There are so many options where to go, we went for a trip every weekend and still haven't seen even a small part. Really close to Nablus is Sebastia, then the obvious trips like Betlehem (the Banksy hotel there is worth a visit for sure), Jerusalem, Hebron, Ramallah (good for live music), Dead sea (if you can go somewhere else than the official beach which is more of a resort made especially for tourits now), there are also few nice hiking option in the national parks around dead sea, Nazareth's old town is very cosy and if you miss the european atmosphere you can always go to tel aviv. Jordan is also worth visiting but you need visa for that and you also have to pay extra fees at the border so it can get a bit pricey.
People are very friendly and welcoming everywhere so it doesn't really matter where you go, it will always be nice.
And travelling is really easy using the public taxy service. (It's good to learn the numbers to negotiate.)
People are very friendly and welcoming everywhere so it doesn't really matter where you go, it will always be nice.
And travelling is really easy using the public taxy service. (It's good to learn the numbers to negotiate.)
Employer
Employer
I worked at the environment and water institute which is part of the research center at Al-najah university.
Work description
I got training in a water lab and then helpes with everything arund there. They were also working on a new biogas research so I tested some samples nad wrote a report.
Salary (sufficient for local conditions?)
The salary was 250 JOD per a month and the rent was 50, with the rest you can easily pay for your life in Nablus but if you plan to travel a lot you might need to save up for that from your own money.
Language requirements
The best is if you can speak arabic but in the uni campus you can easily communicate also in english.
Accommodation (price, who provided it)
Accommodation was arranged by the university, it was an apartment close to the new campus shared with other girls doing their internship in Nablus. All the boys lived in another apartment in the bulding next door.
Social life
Meeting IAESTE members (pick-up at the airport, organized events...)
They will send a taxi for you to the airport that will bring you to the apartment. And anytime we wanted to go somewhere or find out infos for our planned trip there was always someone from iaeste ready to help us. But you need to be a bit pro-active and ask about everything.
Meeting other foreign students
Since we all lived at the same place we spent lot of time together - going on trips, having dinners, smoking hookah - just normal life:)
Sport and culture
When the semester starts you can sign up for any sport class at uni - I went swimming twice a week. For culture such as music is better to go to another city.
Food, local specialties
So many good options! Just try any street food you will see. It never disappoints!
Other information
Possibilites to communicate with the Czech Republic
Wifi at the uni campus and the apartment, also is quite good to get palestinian sim card and buy data -very usefull when travelling.
Recommendations for students who will go to the same place
Be respectful and open-minded, try to talk to locals and learn a bit of arabic.
What not to forget with you
Sun protection of all kind!
Long sleeved shirts and throusers.
Long sleeved shirts and throusers.
Benefits of the internship
Can't even describe,the cultural experience is stronger than the working one I would say, it really made me think a bit differently and changed my perspective on many things and I don't even think I can realize all the benefits fully yet.
Cooperation with IAESTE in the foreign country
Everyone is really helpful and friendly, just sometimes it took a bit longer to arrange something but no big problems:)
Overall experience with IAESTE
The best!
Student's website
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Employer's webiste
https://www.najah.edu/en/research/
Other useful links
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Other comments
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