Our Students

Today's students are very different from those of us who graduated in the seventies. They probably see us as relics, but relics we certainly are not. When I first came to the states I was politically naive and completely unaware of how brainwashed I was by my country of birth's propaganda and system of education. I cannot complain about the type of education I received at a strict private (Catholic) school, but my own thinking was warped. I believed in the hierarchical distinctions that were in place because that is what I had come to understand as normal or the way things had to be in my country of birth (la gente decente y la chusma). I had to change my old ways of thinking in order to become a better person. I have struggled with lots of disruptive cultural baggage and cannot say that I am completely assimilated. What I really value about American culture is one's ability to study hard, persevere, reinvent oneself, and find challenging forms of employment. Though with the current political climate, that appears to be changing rapidly. As to Peruvian immigrants, I have personally met many Peruvians in various parts of the US mainland who have worked extremely hard and now own several businesses and have a much better life than what they had in Peru. They certainly own lots of properties and go back and forth to Peru. I admire their hard work and creativity. It's a shame that I picked up a distaste for business ventures that my father had. Starting an import/export business or organizing trips to exotic places in Peru would have been something wonderful to undertake after retirement. However, one needs excellent business skills to be successful at such ventures. When I retire I want to go back to doing something that I have always loved: studying and learning new things. I need to fill in the gaps in knowledge I continue to experience as I grow older. I also want to go back to the Peruvian jungle and see whether those beautiful birds and plants are still there. I spent the happiest summer of my life back in 1967, when my mother finally agreed to allow me to visit my uncle, a Colonel in the Peruvian army, who was stationed in Iquitos. I brought two American girls with me and we had a great time. I also brought back the cutest new world monkey I had ever seen: Gunther. He was named after a gentleman who lived on a farm in Iquitos. Tio Hugo was and is a sweet, gentle person who cares about others. He remains strong and very involved in his own affairs, even though he is in his 80s.