International exchange can motivate students and inspire curiosity.

As Peace Corps celebrates the agency’s 60th anniversary, we look back at the decades of service our Volunteers have provided.

My name is Lizette, and I was a TEFL PCV in Sri Lanka from 1986 – 1989. First of all, believe me when I say that not a day goes by that I do not think about Sri Lanka. Although I was a PCV there more than 30 years ago, Sri Lanka is still in my heart and mind. Always and permanently. That’s what being a Peace Corps Volunteer does to you—it changes you forever in a way that you would never expect.

After college, I wanted to "see the world."

Nearly three decades ago, I entered the village of Kaluwawalatenna in the Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka as a Peace Corps Volunteer in my early 40s.

I am so excited to know that Peace Corps will again be in Sri Lanka! I have been told, that when I was 4 years old, I would tell everyone who I saw, I was going to be a Peace Corps Volunteer. And I did!

30 years ago I was invited by Peace Corps to teach English in Sri Lanka, a country I didn’t know existed.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.

The second best time is now.

— Chinese proverb

Arriving in the Eternal City after two years in rural Sri Lanka, only one thing could get me through this kind of culture shock

String Hoppers in Sri Lanka

Happy Birthday Peace Corps!