Tara Anderson serves as a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador



"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.

Tara Anderson serves as a Peace Corps Volunteer in El Salvador

Peace Corps brings many rewards to volunteers

By: Dominique Whitehead

Issue date: 10/4/06 Section: News

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."

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: October, 2006; Peace Corps El Salvador; Directory of El Salvador RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for El Salvador RPCVs

When this story was posted in February 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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The Peace Corps Library The Peace Corps Library is now available online with over 40,000 index entries in 500 categories. Looking for a Returned Volunteer? Check our RPCV Directory or leave a message on our Bulletin Board. New: Sign up to receive our free Monthly Magazine by email, research the History of the Peace Corps, or sign up for a daily news summary of Peace Corps stories. FAQ: Visit our FAQ for more information about PCOL.

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PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.

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History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help.

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