But not every volunteer is able to live and work in another culture, far from home. Some Peace Corps volunteers return to the United States early.

STEVE EMBER: People who served in the Peace Corps often say it was the hardest experience of their lives but also the best experience.

Alex Gordon volunteered in the early nineteen nineties. He has a box full of things that he kept from the two years he spent building a rural school in Paraguay.

ALEX GORDON: "It brings back a whole lot of memories."

Mr. Gordon says volunteering in the Peace Corps is about more than doing good in the world.

ALEX GORDON: "It gives you the confidence that you can really do anything."

And that includes volunteering a second time for the Peace Corps. This time, Alex Gordon will live and work in Liberia.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: Our program was written and produced by Brianna Blake. I’m Faith Lapidus.

STEVE EMBER: And I’m Steve Ember. You can find transcripts and MP3s of our programs along with photos and videos at voaspecialenglish.com. Also check out the all-new mobile version of our site from your phone or other device. And we hope you can join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

Contributing: Carol Castiel, Brian Padden and Jerome Socolovsky