Tricky Experiments in International Living
Today’s story still makes my heart flutter when I tell it. While traveling is about experiencing culture and broadening our horizons, involving oneself in local politics can carry unforeseen consequences. Today, we’re headed to 1960’s Peru!
This story is in fact a warning for all students who study abroad and any other one who likes to venture into dangerous places. You travel to experience the culture and to broaden your understanding of the world. That said, if you involve yourself in local politics in an active way you may take a huge risk as you may not fully understand the underlying intra-cultural dynamics and relationships. I had an experience as a student which exemplifies this.
In the 1960’s, I had a chance to participate in the ‘Experiment of International Living” program and live with a wonderful family in Lima, Peru while studying Peruvian literature and culture. I stayed in the elite neighborhood San Isidro at the home of the Deputy Director of a major Peruvian bank. Their son had been hosted by an Experiment in International Living family when in the US to study, and they were reciprocating.
It was the 1960’s and the decade’s global political conflicts were also present in Peru. One month before I arrived, General Ricardo Perez Godoy led a military coup to prevent Peruvian leftist Victor Raul Haya de la Torre from assuming the nation’s Presidency. Since Haya had won Peru’s 1962 election there was much resentment among leftist students about the coup. In fact, a Catholic University of Peru student and prominent poet, Javier Heraud, had joined an anti-military revolutionary group. It turned out that several of my Peruvian classmates were Heraud’s friends.
Unbeknownst to me, these friends had contact with a Trotskyite revolutionary group that was organizing peasants in the Cuzco area to oppose the military government. After some weeks of socializing and friendship, they evidently trusted me enough - even though I was an American - to invite me to travel to Cuzco to meet the group’s leader, Hugo Blanco. That prospect greatly interested me as I imagined it might lead to a conversation with one of the major revolutionaries of that time. This was major global stuff for me at the time.
A week after receiving that invitation, while eating dinner with my Peruvian family, a policeman knocked on the door. He had come and tell me that if it were true that I intended to visit Blanco I should be prepared to be expelled from Peru immediately. I immediately realized that I had caused two problems: I had publicly embarrassed my hosts and… I was in serious trouble. The next day I went to the American Embassy to seek advice yet brought back to reality: it was the end of my venture; no Blanco and back to studying literature and culture only. The Embassy’s cultural liaison officer looked at me sternly and simply said: “We know about your invitation. If you try to meet Blanco, we will fully support the police’s intention to expel you.”
Talking about the fear of being sent home as a foreign student, my own first encounter with the police in the US did make me worry for a bit and I had to use my creativity and Germanic charm to get out of a dicey situation. The next episode is named after the officer: Officer Heidelberg…Thank You!
I hope you found this story both captivating and eye-opening. It serves as a powerful reminder of the delicate balance between cultural exploration and personal safety. As we conclude this episode of The Memory Keeper, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for joining me on this incredible journey. Your support and listenership mean the world to me.
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