Like father, like daughter

Dan Bernoske is somewhat of a local hero.  Sometimes I think that my and Amy's friends only like us because of our father.  He has an amazing sense of humor and we call him our "one man circus" (in a good way, of course).  Recently, he has become an international celebrity of sorts as more and more of the Wat Opot kids have gotten to meet him and my mom via skype.  They love his laugh, his grey hair, and the funny faces he makes when they point and giggle.

Dan the Man with me and my best friends from high school before leaving for Cambodia last summer

My father has the absolute best sense of humor.  Hands down.  He can make anyone laugh in any circumstance.  This is great now, but growing up it wasn't always that awesome.  My dad volunteered a lot at Amy's and my school and spent a lot of time with us and our friends.  That sense of humor mixed in with a crowd of friends usually equaled a great deal of embarrassment for me.  I'm certain that his number one favorite hobby is embarrassing his kids.  Looking back, I am beyond blessed that my father spent so much time with us and at our schools but at the time it was pure torture.  I can still hear his famous words, "one day, dear Katherine, one day you'll get your chance."  Well father, that time has come.

Now that I'm living with and helping to care for 56 kids, it's my turn to do the embarrassing and I take full advantage.  In the fall when Chihomi from Japan was at Wat Opot, we would walk the kids to school every morning.  They loved it and the attention, but as soon as we got to the gate, that was it.  They shooed us away.  It was their turf and we weren't allowed in to cause trouble.  One day though their teacher invited us in to see the classrooms.  Walking in the gate, Chihomi and I watched as horror spread across the Watopotians faces, waiting for us to run up and hug them or gasp!- talk to them!   Going into the rooms was even worse.  When we walked into Thear's classroom and announced that we were his friends from the US and Japan he turned bright red while everyone giggled.  Poor guy.  At Wat Opot I have 14 kids hanging on me at any given moment, then I go to their school and I'm an untouchable.  Thinking more about it.. maybe I should start hanging out at the school just to get some quiet time!

On Wat Opot grounds there are still an unfair amount of opportunities for embarrassment.  Just today Ya had two friends over that thought I was hilarious but Ya was mortified.  I had a flashback to all those times before when I was in Ya's shoes.  At the time  I was miserable but had no idea how lucky I was.  Ya would probably love to be embarrassed by his father, because that would mean his father was here.


COUNTDOWN: Cora arrives tomorrow!!!  I'm camped out in Phnom Penh awaiting her Asian invasion.  I can't wait to finally share Wat Opot and Cambodia with someone I love!