Cadwell travels global job path

By Luke Graham

Larry Caldwell stops to pick up some coconut milk from a vendor on his way to work in Bangalore, India.

One dark night in Nepal, Larry Caldwell (MA '72) had an encounter he'd never forget. Celebrating with the locals at a lodge with no electricity or indoor plumbing, Caldwell said he had to urinate. So, slightly intoxicated, he inched his way outside and found what he thought was a suitable place to relieve himself. Caldwell said he felt a "presence" about him, so he lit a match. He found himself face to face with an ominous creature with gigantic horns.

"I was literally peeing on the head of a water buffalo," Caldwell said.

He slowly walked away unharmed but added another unique experience to his time overseas.

Caldwell works as an intercultural trainer for Boulder-based Tucker International and any other company that requests his service, he said. During his time as a trainer, he has traveled all over the world.

"I figured up that during the last 10 years, I've worked or traveled in 41 countries," he said.

As an intercultural trainer, Caldwell said he conducts seminars for Americans who are moving to Asia or Europe to work. He directs the seminars in America and abroad as well. Caldwell describes the program as a mini-master's degree, adding that his seminars cover subjects from culture, history and geography to nonverbal communication and social values.

"Think 'Lonely Planet' or 'Rough Guide' at a managerial level," he said. "Think International Business MBA 101."

The participants in his seminars are employees of corporations going abroad to manage operations. Among the many companies he has worked with are General Motors, AT&T, Disney, Ford, Proctor & Gamble, Johns Manville, Motorola and Volkswagen. The seminars are not designed for tourists who want to know about a country but are set up for high-level executives who are going to run a business abroad.

Although Caldwell has helped companies move all over the world, he said he recently has focused his efforts on India.

"There's a revolution going on there, and I want to watch," he said. "I've been living in Bangalore for the last six months finishing a project with AOL and setting up other projects."

Caldwell said training is "extremely important" for employees of companies that hope to succeed in business overseas. American media focus on successful companies overseas, but the reality is far different, he said.

"About 50 percent of all Western projects in India fail," he said. "Most of those are from intercultural failures."

Caldwell said that when a company decides to move to another country, employees face culture shock. Often employees will get depressed and not leave their houses because they are not acclimated to the culture, he said. That leads to drastic mistakes and can often result in business failure. Caldwell said he believes that by taking one of his seminars, company employees will be more suited to face the challenges abroad and more likely to be successful.

Caldwell said he has always been fascinated by foreign cultures. He joked that he was "born clutching a National Geographic" and pestered anyone who spoke with an accent.

Caldwell's interest was further sparked when in the late 1960s he was enrolled in an intensive one-year Russian language program in Berlin. Intrigued by Europe, he said he bought a motorcycle and toured the continent.

"Europe introduced me to art, literature and music," he said.

When he returned to the United States, Caldwell said he came home with a lot of questions about the world and wanted to further his studies.

"I was fired up to learn all I could about everything in the world," he said.

While in Europe, Caldwell wrote long letters home and decided he wanted to be an international correspondent. He said he enrolled in the master's program in journalism at CU and got a job on the news desk at the Boulder Daily Camera.

After graduating, he got a job with the AP, but not for long. He said he didn't like what the AP made him cover and soon got tired of the job.

Unsure of what he would do next, Caldwell said he decided to sell everything he owned and move to Europe so he could pursue a career as a foreign correspondent. He said he spent two years traveling in Europe and Asia as a free-lancer.

That's how he wound up in a Turkish prison.

Caldwell said he knew of three Americans who were imprisoned in Turkey on drug charges and had been sentenced to death. He went to the U.S. consulate in Adana to see if he could interview the Americans for a story he was working on. Unfortunately, talks between the United States and Turkey regarding the fate of the prisoners had broken down, but Caldwell persisted and finally got his chance.

"A CIA guy briefed us and gave us questions the agency wanted answered," he said. When he got to the prison, he showed his passport and was arrested. "I had a pistol to my ear, and the guards started whacking me."

Fortunately for Caldwell, the head of the prison spoke German, a language he is fluent in, and agreed to let him go, he said, adding that after a few hours, the guard even agreed to let him interview the prisoners. Caldwell said that three years after the interviews, the Americans were released in a prisoner exchange.

After traveling for two years around Europe, Caldwell came back and met the publisher of the Camera, the late Ed Murray. He said he was soon hired to cover courts and cops. After a year on the police beat, Murray made him arts and entertainment editor.

"Meeting Ed was like opening a bottle of champagne," he said.

He had worked seven years at the Camera when a new publisher arrived and cut the budget of the arts and entertainment section. Caldwell felt it was time to move on. He did not want to leave, but the move turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

"It's good for a journalist to explore other avenues," he said.

Caldwell said leaving journalism after 10 years "was like getting a divorce," but he wanted to resume his travels. Inspired by an article in The Wall Street Journal about intercultural training, he said he began working for Tucker International on a project in Pakistan. After getting opportunities to work in Pakistan and Turkey, Caldwell realized he had found his calling.

"I'd spent several months in both countries and knew the cultures," he said. "I did the projects (and) loved it. I've been doing intercultural training ever since 1983."

His experiences as an intercultural trainer and especially his experiences in India have been very rewarding. He said he is fortunate to work in India because its culture is so "intensive."

His interviewing skills and the ability to collect accurate information in a timely fashion have been the biggest help for him.

"I couldn't have done it without journalism," he said.

Since Caldwell's job requires him to spend most of his time abroad, he said he now sees American culture differently. He said Americans really do not know what is going on in other countries, thanks largely to American news media.

"American coverage on international events and politics is terrible," he said. "Americans are abysmally ignorant and ill-informed."

This is why Caldwell's one piece of advice for journalists is to spend time out of the country and develop an independent view of American culture.

"I think everyone who is going to be a journalist should pack their bags and travel abroad," he said. "Plus, there is a story around every corner in Europe and Asia."

Despite the downsides, Caldwell said most of his intensive memories are in Bangalore. One of his most memorable moments came when he first taught a class in India on American culture to 30 Indian participants. They class was diverse, representing six religions, nine languages and a dozen or more ethnic and cultural groups. When it ended, students presented him with a gift. The spokesman of the group came to Caldwell and knelt at his feet.

"He had me put my right hand on his head and say, 'I bless you, my son,' " he said. "That's the most impressive program evaluation I've ever received."

Fellow alums can e-mail Caldwell at Lgc@indra.com or read his blog at www.geoagenda.com.