Showing posts from September, 2009


Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Mt. Everest, says, "I was just an enthusiastic mountaineer of modest abilities who was willing to work quite hard and had the necessary imagination and determination . . . I have enjoyed great satisfaction from my climb of Everest. But my most worthwhile things have been the building of schools and medical clinics. That has given me more satisfaction than a footprint on a mountain" (Mortenson and Relin 129, 130). This sentiment sounds a lot like Greg Mortenson and his reasons for wanting to build schools in Pakistan.

Why do you think people like Sir Edmund Hillary and Greg Mortenson find more satisfaction giving rather then taking?

The People Have Spoken

In Three Cups of Tea, Mortenson hits many bumps in the road--he's broke, his girlfriend dumps him, and he is forced to build a bridge before he can build the school at Korphe. What does Mortenson finally realize about these bumps? Do they signify failure or something else?

What bumps have you experienced in your life?

The Hectic American

Explain how Greg Mortenson's American-style pragmatism (practical consequences and real effects) is at odds with Korphe's patient way of dealing with obstacles as illustrated in Three Cups of Tea.


Shopping in Rawalpindi is a colorful affair filled with long sessions of tea-soaked bargaining prefacing each purchase of materials needed to build the school at Korphe--and for Greg Mortenson those purchases come with a price. For what cause would you sell all the memorabilia from your parents, your favorite car, and the gear from your favorite hobby?