By Tessie Borden, Republic Mexico City Bureau

Published on May 1, 2007

Amigos de las Americas, an independent, non-profit group based in Houston, runs several volunteer projects every summer in Latin American countries, including Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

"I had the opportunity to live in Guanajuato, Mexico, for seven weeks before my junior year, and it was an experience unlike any I had ever had.

Volunteers are placed with one or two "partners" in rural or semi-urban communities, where they support and work alongside community members in public-health and community-development projects.

I lived with a host family that included eight kids. Staying with them not only introduced me to generous, hospitable people, it helped me get to know a culture that exists right next to us but that I had never been acquainted with before.

Eating tortillas was a small part of it. Really getting to know people from another country is invaluable and awesome."

Williams is a senior at Xavier College Prep in Phoenix.