Three Cups of Tea!

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Relin was a very inspirational and educational book. But when I say educational I certainly do not mean in the normal sense of the word. I enjoyed reading it, the things Greg has done, just so far, in his life are so amazing and so much more than I realized anyone could possibly accomplish. From the very beginning I was impressed with Greg. If I was lost in a place I was not familiar with and had to sleep and be froze to the ground, I would definitely be a lot less composed than he was. It's also amazing how much stumbling into the little village would change so much of his life. The stories about climbing K2 i thought were very interesting because mountain climbing has always interested me.

The way Greg lived also impressed me greatly, he lived out of a storage garage and his car. It shows how much he was willing to give up for the people of Pakistan to have a better life. He also spent so much time typing, not on a computer, but on a typewriter those many letters to people for donations. He is dedicated to what he believes in. I really admire him. He really is so humble, as we saw on the video in class. I learned a lot about just not Greg, but about the middle eastern people. I always was under the impression that the mass of the middle east was terrorists, but contrary to what I thought, there are some very fantastic people. Such as Haji Ali and his family. Greg fit very well into their culture as well, he was willing to accept their ways, I think this was part of the reason his schools are so sucessful.

Jean came up with the idea for the CAI, which was absolutely brilliant. The CAI has helped so many children, who without Greg's determination, may not have ever had an education. I never imagined the children in Pakistan or any other middle eastern countries would want to learn. Greg Mortenson is a truely inspirational man, he shows us that although we are only one person we truly can have a huge impact on things. I think his cause is a great one and that it continues to be very sucessful for the members of the CAI. I also think our donation will be awesome!

Overall, the book was very interesting. Although it was not something I would've chosen to read on my own, I am glad i read it. At some points I would become confused with all the different terms Greg used but other than that I really enjoyed reading it. It was a fantastic story, and it was true, it's still so amazing he did all of this just because he stumbled into Korphe after being separated from his group. I usually do not like open endings but I think it was perfect for this story because the CAI is not done building schools and it shows that there is still much more that can be done in the middle east. Very good book.