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Shireen, Amal, May and Sabah attended the Studio School of Languages English course for a month, at the
end of which they took the TOEIC exam (Test of English for International Communication). They felt it was important to have this accreditation of the standard they had reached. During the month they not only
benefited from the lessons but also enjoyed the chance to meet fellow students from all over the world. This was sometimes a challenge – the four teachers encountered different ideas and beliefs which at times they
found surprising if not incomprehensible. But in general they took all this on board as a valuable learning experience. An unexpected challenge was understanding the northern accent of one of their teachers!
Once again, Unipal was very fortunate to have hosts who pulled out all the stops to give their guests a
positive experience of life in Britain. Rita and Oliver Gaggs, Cathy Michell, Roger and Erika Salmon, and Sarah Smalley and Martin Richards were the people whose hospitality was much appreciated. One teacher writes,
‘It is hard to say everything about the wonderful host family... every facility was available for me to use. They enabled me to contact my family freely. Really I felt as if I was at my own house. They were very
friendly and welcoming and they always tried to show their respect for my religion.’ Most of the teachers had never stayed away from home before and missed their families desperately, so the chance to Skype them
from time to time was greatly appreciated.
In addition to the classes, the four teachers had a wealth of social and cultural experiences,
including theatre trips, a visit to London, lunch with the family of Peter Stockton (a Unipal trustee) and his Palestinian wife, Khawla, and a day at the seaside. The teachers’ enjoyment of paddling in the waves,
sitting on the sand and watching children build sandcastles was only undermined by the sadness that their own children cannot enjoy these simple pleasures because their access to the sea is barred.
The four also took part in a lunch event organised by supporters of Palestine in Cambridge, with stalls
selling Palestinian goods, posters and books. Amal, Sabah, Shireen and May all helped cook delicious Palestinian food and met a good number of people who were keen to learn more about the Palestinian situation at
first hand.
The teachers enjoyed a final weekend in London with Saher Usmani and her family, who took them to the
airport and saw them safely on to their flights home.
These visits are always a challenge to organise and Unipal is grateful to everybody whose contribution
has made them possible this year.
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