Citizen by Choice: My Journey to the American Dream

This is the autobiography of the journey of an orphaned boy from the Andes mountains of Peru, to the the U.S. A. I spoke Italian, Quechua and Spanish by the age of three. Before my mother passed away when I was seven, we traveled eight days on horseback from the top of the Andes to a small town in the jungle to trade various products grown in the mountains for various products grown in the jungle area. I spent my adolescence in different places with different, loving, family members, and was responsible for my own studies. I survived a devastating avalanche, going over the side of a mountain in a car and nearly drowning three times. I explored many parts of Peru, including the Amazon River Jungle, where I hunted wild boars and alligators, and fished for piranhas, while working for an American Mining Company. I left Peru for the United States, where I attended dental school for the second time, married my wife Betty and joined the U.S. Air Force. I am the father of five children, four living, and fourteen grandchildren.

Dr. Rolando Bernui was born in a tiny town in the Peruvian Andes, and grew up in small cities across Peru. He has D.D.S. degrees from San Marcos University and Indiana University, He has taught dentistry at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. After serving 25 years in the U.S. Air Force, he retired as a full Colonel.