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Three Cups of Tea ~ Mortenson & Relin ~ May 1st ~ Book Club Online

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The Book Club Online is  the oldest  book club on the Internet, begun in 1996, open to everyone.  We offer cordial discussions of one book a month,  24/7 and  enjoy the company of readers from all over the world.  everyone is welcome to join in.


Three Cups of Tea
by
Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin

"The first time that you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger" a villager tells our author.  "The second time, you are an honored guest.  The third time you become family." ~ Three  Cups of Tea
______________Three Cups of Tea is an inspirational story of one man's efforts to address poverty, educate girls, and overcome cultural divides.  This book won the 2007 Kiriyama Prize for nonfiction revealing the enormous obstacles inherent in becoming such "family." ~ Bookmarks Magazine


Three Cups of Tea -- Homepage.
Ignorance -- the Real Enemy.
Synopsis and Biography.
Readers' Guide by the Author.
K2 Mountain.
--Discussion Schedule
* May 1 - 7         Chapters 1 - 6
* May 8 - 14       Chapters 7 - 12
* May 15 - 21      Chapters 13 - 18
* May 22 - 31      Chapters 19 - End
.1.  What made Mortenson particularly ripe for such a transformation?  Has anything similar happened in your own life?

2.  Is Mortenson someone that you would like to know, work with or have as a neighbor or friend?

3.  At the heart of the book is a powerful but simple poliical message: we each as individuals have the power to change the world, one cup of tea at a time,  etc..
Discussion Leaders: Andy(ALF43), JoanK & Pedln

ALF43:
Please- come in and join this fabulous discussion about this astonishing man who found the power to "make a difference"- One cup of tea at a time. 

We welcome your comments, your thoughts and your insights into this remote area of the world.  We will be fortunate to have folks here who have shared information with us through informative links, as well as personal experiences.   If you have book in hand, a map has been provied for our reference which I found extremely helpful.

Do sit down, prop up your feet as we transition with Greg Mortenson from the second highest mountain in the world, the dreaded K2, to a decade long mission to build schools throughout the region that gave birth to the Taliban and sanctuary to Al Queda.

At SeniorLearn.org our mission is to read, share, learn and respect all poster's opinions.

Come on down!!!

JoanK:
I’m really excited about this discussion. This is a really inspiring book, and reading it with such a great group of friends gives us a chance we don’t often have to experience and learn together about a part of the world that I, for one, will never get a chance to visit from people who know it well. So put on your warmest clothes, drink a cup of butter tea, and we’re off to a village in the Himalaya too small to be on the map.

pedln:
Lace up your boots, grab your pack, and join us in Korphe and the Baltistan as we learn more about Greg Mortenson and the people he has worked so diligently with in Central Asia.  This book takes place in an area that is close to the forefront of the world’s headlines, from where much disturbing news comes every day.  Now we can meet the ‘real people’ who live there, learn about their lives and hopes and dreams.

Justin:
When one is lost, disoriented, and exhausted the sight of another human is so significant and the relief it offers is so enervating that one will remember the event a lifetime. I can understand Mortenson's desire to compensate in some meaningful way.

Once, while swimming off the coast of Ulithi Atol I became separated from other swimmers in waves so high I could not tell which direction was seaward and which shoreward. Some time passed before I heard shouting from the beach but after swimming in what I thought was the direction of the sound I soon realized I was moving farther out to sea. The sounds disappeared and I realized I was lost and disoriented as well as tired. The salt spray made it difficult to breathe. Choppy water splashed against my nose and mouth as I tried to tread high in the water but my leg muscles were cramping. I remember, eventually, rising up to the crest of what I thought was a wave and sure enough it was and ,suddenly, the beach came into view. People were walking about and no one was paying the slightest attention to me. I swam to shore experiencing great relief and a very sunburned nose. It was sometime before I ventured back into the ocean for a swim.

 The event was common place, I suppose, but inability to find my way to safety raised my anxieties to an interesting level and I would have been very grateful for the sight of another human being. I am not at all sure I would have been grateful enough to spend ten years building schools for islanders but then not everyone can be a Mortenson.
 

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