#9 Three Cups of Tea

After many, many set backs, Greg Mortenson has finally gotten started on building his school. But he is way behind where he ever believed he would be. Upon returning to Korphe the year prior, he was informed that it was almost winter and too late in the year to build a school. In addition, the people of Korphe had decided that they would first need to build a bridge across the raging river that separated Korphe from the rest of the world. It was a necessary set back: in addition to helping the people generally, it would also make it a lot easier for Mortenson to transport all the supplies. The second delay was Mortenson's marriage. Although the wedding itself was extremely quick, Greg and Tara kept postponing the date of his return to Pakistan in order to spend more time with each other as newlyweds. When he finally did come back, the construction had not come along as fast as he had hoped. The stone had been cut from its quarry, but not much else. They barely had time to set the foundation before winter came again. And of course the people of Korphe made a big deal about blessing it and feasting, so not much was done before Mortenson had to leave once again.
This homecoming trip was particularly important. That Thanksgiving, Jean Hoerni offered to help Mortenson make a career off of building schools in the east by endowing a foundation called the Central Asia Institute and making Motenson the Director. For the first time in a long time, Mortenson had a job, which paid him almost $22,000 a year. And Motrenson would need it. That winter, his wife Tara became pregnant. They got a house in Bozeman, Montana and Mortenson was on he way to a fairly stable lifestyle.

#8 Three Cups of Tea

Everything about Greg Mortenson has always been strange. You can understand that much from reading it. While he's homeless and penniless he strives to build a school for those who have even less than him. But even I was shocked when he got married after just four days. His first girlfriend in this book that he had dumped him when he got back to the states and took him a very long time to get over. But when he did he realised that she was not the one for him. Later, he met Tara Bishop while listening to Sir Edmund Hillary give a speech. He later confessed that at the time he was more excited about meeting Tara. They were married four days later. As a child who has gone through no less than three divorces, this is almost even more crazy than a homeless man building a shcool in a third-world country. Did they know anything about each other? How were they going to live? But at the same time, the hopless romantic part of me believed it was incredably sweet. They took each other while they had nothing to their name, and expected nothing else but the others heart. That is a true love that doesnt need anything more than four days.

#7 Three Cups of Tea

One thing I found funny about Greg Mortenson was how he said, "If I die in Pakistan, it'll be because of a traffic accident, not a bomb or a bullet." and how that "The real danger over there is the roads." They line mountain edges and are uneven so that one mistake could get you killed. The drivers are not the best around either. I find it funny that the absolute horror in our stereotypes pale in comparison to the experience the roads. It makes you think twice about being so judgemental.
I experienced the same fear of riding when I went to Mexico the summer before last. The highways were crazy and everyone drove like maniacs. Once, I had to even get out of the car in the middle of the road to retrieve something that was dropped. Thankfully no cars came by, or I probably would just be an oil stain on the asphalt somewhere by now. We were in Chiapas, a part of Mexico that now is in the middle of a big conflict. Even when we were there, we were once stopped by a millitary checkpoint to be searched. But every time you ask me what was the scariest part about Mexico, I will tell you the same thing. Driving.

#6 Three Cups of Tea

Upon returning to Pakistan, Greg Mortenson had 36432.1 rupees to live on in the months while he was there. This amounted to eight hundred U.S. dollars. He rented a room that was more of a cement box than anything, with a florescent light that he could not turn off. There was no air conditioning to save him from the sweltering heat. He had two shirts to his name.
Not many people could live like that. Just think of how much you spend and receive just by living. You need to pay for electricity, heating, mortgage. And you get in return a bright, warm, home. I would like to see one of us softies live in a cement box for several months with only eight hundred dollars to get us though it.
Right now, my dresser is overflowing with clothes since I have not yet put away my things from winter and my closet is similarly occupied. My room is an absolute mess and at that stage that you dread looking into it for you know you will have to clean it soon. But after reading about Greg Mortenson's living conditions and how they were better than most of those in Korphe I feel really appreciative of my room and the stuff in it. I am much luckier than some people to have so much.

#5 Three Cups of Tea

Greg Mortenson came back to the States completely broke with almost nothing except the unfulfilled promise of building a school for Korphe. He resolved to mail 500 letters to movie stars, coorperations, anyone who might have been generous enough to donate to his cause. He calculated that he would need to raise $12,000 in order to build a five roomed school and pleaded everyone to give what they could in order to help reach this amount.
To say something more about his dedication, Mortenson did the first 300 letters on rented typewriters that were to small for his fingers, and it was such slow and tedious work that it took months to complete before he finally discovered how to use a computer. But even then the charity wasn't going as well as hoped. No one seemed interesed enough to contribute. That is, until he spoke about it at his mothers school to the children. What the adults could not understand, the elemetary school students understood immediatly, and they began raising money by collecting pennies. The first $623.45 Mortenson gathered was from these insignificant pennies given to him by kids.
Children truely are the world most pure hearted creatures. They understand love and giving without fail. They gave so much by giving so little. They could teach all of us a thing or two.

#4 Three Cups of Tea

It really sickens me to think of how we as students act towards school. We moan and complain, and never realize how privileged we are. The children of Korphe could not afford a teacher, which would cost about a dollar a day. So three days out of every week, the children would walk to a designated spot where a teacher from a neighboring town had agreed to teach them. The lucky ones would have slates to write on, and the others simply used sticks in the dirt. There they would sit, in the cold, writing out their multiplication tables. They often were not supervised, but unlike students here, they would work diligently, eager to learn.
It makes me sick to think that I complain or listen to complaints about school close to every day. We see school as an awful burden we cannot rid ourselves of, whereas these children see education as a priceless gift. If they could see our schools I'm certain they would regard it as heaven, and would be shocked to hear us complain as we do. It makes me feel ungrateful. Even now I am working on a computer while they write in dirt, I am learning Chemistry while they have to make do with the bare basics that the teacher can help them with. I eat three meals a day while they scarcly have sugar. I have no right to complain about school lunches, lessons, or how cold it is in the mornings. Not when they would do anything to take my place.