The landscape is vividly green, the mountains are breathtaking and the weather is incredibly hot.
This is the countryside of El Salvador, where Peace Corps volunteer and University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate Tara Anderson has lived since December of 2005.
After 10 weeks of language, culture sensitivity and technical training, Anderson said she was welcomed into the community.
"My community was great," Anderson said. "They were very respectful and had a lot of curiosity. They were very caring."
When Anderson arrived in El Salvador, she stayed in a one-room house by herself that would normally occupy four people. It is not uncommon for four families to live in one house in El Salvador, she said.
"If I did everything by myself, they'd think I was weird," Anderson said. "All of the families live together - not like here."
Anderson, who is in the U.S. on vacation, went to El Salvador as an agro-forestry and environmental education volunteer. She helps make organic compost for tree nurseries and teaches leadership skills to other farmers who are trying to advertise their expertise.
"We focus on sustainability," Anderson said. "The whole point is to be able to leave and have them do things (on their own). It can be challenging, but that's the fun part, right?"
Anderson noted the many differences between American culture and Salvadorian culture. She also explained the many changes she had to make, specifically in relation to language.
"My mom asked me what I did that day. I told her I cleaned, and what's that word? The thing where you make your clothes flat," Anderson laughed. "Yeah, ironing."
Language immersion is one of the secondary learning opportunities provided by the Peace Corps.
"This proves how well they teach you language skills in the Peace Corps," joked Gretchen Mills, UNL's Peace Corps coordinator.
UNL currently has 34 acting volunteers and 48 students in the application process, Mills said. Mills volunteered in the Kyrgyz Republic in Central Asia teaching English as a second language. She stressed the importance Peace Corps can have for UNL students.
"It springboards you to the rest of your life," Mills said. "You learn another culture and language. It gives you a competitive edge."
Jessica DeJong, a junior business administration major, said she was thinking about joining the Peace Corps but that going to the meeting made everything more real.
"It freaked me out. It made me realize the actual consequences," DeJong said. "It motivates me to think about it more, but I'm not ready to do it yet."
Although scary, Mills insisted the experience was very rewarding.
"You go somewhere thinking you are going to give all the help," Mills said, "but it's really you that is getting all the help."
