Peace Corps Guatemala: Daily Activities 4: Halloween As A “Second Goal Activity”

This last Monday was Halloween in the U.S., and the weekend before I bought some peanut M & M’s in Xela so that I could have a ‘Me Party’ Halloween style that night.

A couple of my co-workers asked me if it was Halloween in the U.S. and if I missed being there. Well . . . not terribly so. It is fun answering the door when kids come dressed up in costumes, though I have my qualms about giving away sugary treats, and think that chocolate covered nuts and raisins provide at least a little nugget of nutritive value hidden inside one big massive sugar rush of a night. The picture below is some apples I am soaking in a solution of clorox bleach and tap water (agua del chorro) to make them safe to eat, although it kind of reminds me of bobbing for apples!

I was also asked by a couple of people if Adam, a fellow Peace Corps Volunteer who lives in my town, was going to do his Halloween Trick Or Treating Event with neighborhood kids that he did last year.

Although this might sound like a strange activity with an unclear goal in mind, (unless you’re a member of Witches Without Borders in the U.S. and feel it’s important to teach people from other countries about goblins, ghosts and pumpkins ;-), it is actually part of Peace Corps’ second goal of three, which involves teaching people in the country where we serve about American culture. Peace Corps’ big three goals are:

1. To help the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.

2. To help promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the people served.

3. To help promote a better understanding of other people on the part of all Americans.

Without a doubt, the bulk of my service is aimed at fulfilling Goal 1, and my project’s program manager is Carlos Julajuj, who is a Guatemalan native whom works for Peace Corps and collaborates with the Guatemalan Ministry of Health to make sure that we are, first and foremost, meeting the needs of the Guatemalan people whom, through the Guatemalan government, have asked for Peace Corps volunteers to serve in their country. Also, Peace Corps Volunteers are sent only to those communities in Guatemala that specifically ask for a PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer).

Carlos is pictured below, and interestingly, Julajuj means “11”, as in the number 11, in K’iche a Mayan dialect spoken in my community, and given that Carlos is equivalent to Charles in English, you could say that I work for Charles 11, giving my service in Guatemala a sort of James Bond-esque flavor to it!

So, Goal 1 is our bread and butter business. In terms of Goal 3, I’ve actually done, and am doing, a smattering of ‘3GOL’ activities here and there, such as having talked to groups of prospective Peace Corps Volunteers when I returned to the U.S. on vacation last August, as well as engaging in a correspondence program with 7 elementary school classes this year, (as well as one last year). Us PCVs can “earn back” up to 3 vacation days during our service if we participate in 3GOL (Goal 3) events, which basically teach Americans about the country where we are serving and/or answer their Peace Corps related questions, (Peace Corps is currently working in about 68 different countries and there are about 88 Peace Corps Volunteers currently serving in Guatemala, thank you for asking!) Here is a picture from a 3GOL Peace Corps recruiting event I did in Phoenix Arizona.

Besides this bonus vacation days benefit, 3GOL events are also a lot of fun, and the only time we’ll get to describe our Peace Corps service to others while we are actually in Peace Corps. In fact, this blog is one of my 3GOL activities! (Thank you dear reader for helping me to fulfill Peace Corps’ Third Goal!) Incidentally, I report to Uncle Sam semi-annually on every post that I make here on my VRF, or Volunteer Reporting Form. Here is screenshot from the part of the VRF where the program asks us what Peace Corps Goal an activity that we are reporting to Washington (where Peace Corps HQ is) falls under.

I haven’t planned any specific activities related to the Second Goal, in terms of teaching Guatemalans about American culture, though I do get asked many questions about the U.S., and Guatemala is somewhat unique in terms of countries where the Peace Corps operates as many Guatemalans have either lived in the U.S. for a time, or know somebody who lived in the U.S.. So, I decided to tag along with Adam as he Trick or Treated with some neighborhood kids to see how promoting the Second Goal works in practice. He bought candy that he gave to shop vendors and local families to give to the children as they Trick or Treated. Here are some photos.