This article is the first in a series about the experience of being a volunteer in a developing country. The writer and her husband are embarking on a year as volunteers in the tiny Pacific Nation, Vanuatu. This story is about making the decision to go. Following stories will be about settling in and the work of volunteers.

Just a little list if you are thinking about it!

When looking at joining the Peace Corps, one needs to understand they get placed where an invitation comes from, not necessarily where they want to go. So how do you get yourself into the country of your choice? By tailoring your skill sets carefully to create the invitation. You’ve got one chance to get it right, so go into the process armed with the correct knowledge!

Sometimes you can learn a lot by reading other websites, but there’s no substitute when it comes to an actual meeting with the Peace Corps. I didn’t get all my questions answered, but I did learn a few things worth passing on to other potential recruits.

There are many obstacles that can slow you down or derail you completely when it comes to changing your health, and an injury in the pursuit of a goal is high up on the list. It is a setback that doesn’t have to mentally defeat you, and you have the power to choose.

There comes a point in every potential volunteer’s trek in the process you must confront: informing your parents. In my case, it wasn’t easy; many others encounter a bad reaction. So how do you tell your parents of your intention to give 27 months of your life to a great cause?

In the last two segments, I have talked about dietary factors from my own hard experience. You can’t learn everything the first half a dozen diets around, but you can learn where you screw up and take the lessons into the next diet. Water intake proved to be a dangerous lesson I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.

There are many dieting pitfalls out there, and one of the most controllable factors is the intake of salt. The body needs some salt to regulate blood pressure, but too much in the diet is known as the “silent killer”. You’ve thrown out your salt shaker and believe you’re doing good, but have you really looked around in your kitchen? Are you miscalculating your sodium intake by mistake?

When I think of the “E” word (exercise), I have mixed emotions ranging from a low, whinny groan to not wanting to endure physical pain. People have talked and written about a phenomenon called an “exercise high”, but I never experienced it; by the end of my workouts, I always felt like two minutes from death. “I feel great after my workouts!” Shut up.

I always heard the advice that when you start exercising, you should team up with a buddy so they will pull you into working out. Now they say don’t rely on a buddy because if they don’t work out, you don’t work out. I have two buddies I share my workouts with, but they are far from being traditional friends.