Rachel+Z


 * =Rachel's Reading Log (Connector, Researcher, Discussion Director, Passage Master)=

Chapters 1-2:
 * Entry 1.**

Summary: An experienced mountain climber in his mid thirties named Greg Mortenson gets lost while descending K2. After spending a night alone on the mountain, with minimal supplies, he is able to locate his Bali Porter, Mouzafer, who gives him food. They start to decend to the city of Askole, however, Mortenson gets lost again and ends up in Korphe, a small town 8 hours away from his destination. Being the only "white man" in the village, Mortenson feels like somewhat of an outsider. Haji Ali, the chief of the village takes Mortenson in while he finds a ride to his destination.

Connector: Chapters 1 and 2 deal mostly with the mountaineering experiences of Greg Mortenson and his fellow climbers. Although this is hard to relate to, seeing as though I have never before climbed a mountain, there are some situations that Greg finds himself in that I can relate to.

When Greg first gets lost, he not only concerned for his well-being, but for the fact that he is alone. I know that there re times before when we have all felt particularly "alone". Maybe these situations come up frequently for some of us, or maybe not. I know I feel pretty lonely when I am studying or doing my homework which is one of the reasons why I don;t enjoy homework.

During Chapter one, the reader gets to read about what Mortenson has to experience when he was trying to climb to the summit. The book describes the physical conditions of all of the team members and the struggle that they had to go through to reach the bottom. I recognized the symptoms of common anti-altitude sicknesses from a video that we watched in Chemistry. The video talked about mountaineers from Mt. Everest. This just goes to show that, although K2 is not as tall as Everest, the climbers still experience the same feelings and sicknesses.

-Rachel 5-16-09 4:43 pm

chapters 3-7
 * Entry 2**

Summary: In the reading, Mortenson spends more time in Korphe. He has become known throughout the village as Doctor Greg, even though he is not a doctor but only a trained nurse. He realizes that the Korphe people who live in the village do not have any of the modern conveniences that he has in the US. Mortenson gives away many of his climbing supplies. One day, he asks Haji Ali to take him to the school however is appalled when he realizes that the government cannot "afford" a teacher and the children teach the majority of the school lessons to themselves. He decides to built a school. We also learn a bit about Mortenson's family and follow his journey in getting permission to build the school.

Researcher:

So what exactly is K2? Facts:
 * K2 is the second tallest mountain on the planet (behind Mt. Everest)
 * Located between Pakistan and Xinjiang, China
 * The first successful climb to the summit took place on Jult 31, 1954 and was led by Ardito Desio, an Italian cimber.
 * Before this climb, many climbers had attempted but failed to reach the summit.

Balti Culture and Facts:
 * The culture of Balti has been highly influenced by Tibetan, Islam, and Indian culture.
 * total population of Balti people in Pakistan= 300,000
 * There are 4 major seasons in Baltistan. (short spring, summer, fall, long winter)
 * During the winter, temperatures can drop to -25 degreese celsius in the villages.
 * The capital of Balistan is Skardo.
 * literacy rate: 20% males, 3% females.
 * the major source of Balti economy is agriculture.

Rachel Zalegowski -9:14 pm 5-20-08

"Balti People." Wikipedia. 20 May 2008 &lt;[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/balti_people#lifestyle&gt;.]

chapters 8,9
 * Entry 3**

Summary: Most of this reading takes place in Skardu. Mortenson has just returned with all the supplies he needs to build the Korphe school. Little does he know, the villagers in Kahne have their own plan. Changazi, who lives in Skardu, takes Mortenson on the long journey to Kahne with one of the village members Akhmalu. The people in Kahne welcome Greg nicely and then proceed to talk to him about the school he "promised" to build in Kahne. (Mortenson knows perfectly well that he promised to build a school in Korphe not Kahne. When he returns to Korphe, he is suprised to learn that the village is also in need of a new bridge. Without a bridge, the school cannot be built. Mortenson mentally kicks himself for not realizing this then returns to the US where he is dumped by his girlfriend and spends many months without money.

Discussion Director: Questions to consider
 * 1) How would you have reacted if you were Mortenson and had just realized that the people in Kahne expected a school? Would you have done the same thing he did?
 * 2) In what ways do you think Mortenson handled his situation (no money, no home) in a good way, and in what ways do you think he handled them poorly?
 * 3) Have you ever been put into a situation like Greg's where people expect you to do something, yet you can't do it?
 * 4) When Mortenson is caught crying by the Balti children, he immediately starts to interact with the children. He teaches them words and mathematical concepts. How does this depict Mortenson's relations with children and are there other examples of this in the book?
 * 5) The title of the book, //Three Cups of Tea// seemed a bit odd to me at first. Now, I understand why the book has such an interesting title. Explain why you think this book is named what it is and how tea plays an important role in Pakistani culture.

- To answer my third question, yes, I have been put into a situation like Greg's. This may seem like a small trivial moment of my life but I remember being assigned to the 500 freestyle race when I was on swim team at school. For those of you who don't follow swimming, this is 20 laps all in a row. I knew, in my mind that there was no way I wanted to swim 20 laps. I didn't tell anyone this until the last moment because they were all depending on me and making me feel even worse about not wanting to do it. In the end, I backed out of the race and still do not regret it.

- to answer my last question, tea plays a very important role in Pakistani culture. Sharing a cup of tea with someone shows that you are a welcoming hospitable person. Mortenson has been given many cups of tea throughout the novel which shows that he plays a genuine role in the society of the villages he has stayed in.

-Rachel 5-21-08 5:30 pm.

chapters 10-12 5-22-08
 * Entry 4**

summary: During these chapters, Mortenson really starts to get his life together. He gets supplies and money from an old friend named Jean Hoerni and is able to build a bridge in Korphe- the first step to starting the school. He travels back and forth between San Francisco and Pakistan. During a presentation by Sir. Edmund Hillary, he meets a women named Tara who he eventually ends up getting married to. Mortenson returns a month after he was expected back in Pakistan by Changazi. He works on building the school however begins to realize that Changazi might not be as truthful as he seems to be. After the school is finished, Mortenson returns to the US, where Tara is pregnant. Together, Tara and Mortenson move near Tara's mother to start a new life.

Passage Master:

pg. 112 (about a book written by Norberg- Hodge) "Norberg-Hodge continues to argue not only that Western development workers should not blindly impose modern "improvements" on ancient cultures, but that industrialized countries had lessons to learn from people like Ladakhis about building sustainable societies. "I have seen," she writes, "that community and a close relationship with the land can enrich human life beyond all comparison with material wealth or technological sophistication. I have learned that another way is possible.

"But I couldn't help worrying about what the outside world, coming in over the bridge, would do to Korphe." -Mortenson pg. 112.

//I thought that Norberg-Hodge made a very interesting point. Communities such as Korphe do not have a lot of material goods or luxury products, but they have a sustainable society. Maybe all the modern convinces that the West have are actually degrading the society in ways that are small. If we rely too much on technology, our societies might eventually collapse. Maybe it is better to be oblivious to what you are missing, than to have everything and always want more.//

pg.150 "That day, Haji Ali taught me the most important lesson I've ever learned in my life," Mortenson says. "We Americans think you have to accomplish everything quickly. We're the country of thirty-minute power lunches and two-minute football drills. Our leaders thought their 'shock and awe' campaign could end the war in Iraq before it even started. Haji Ali taught me to share three cups of tea, to slow down and make building relationships as important as building projects. He taught me that I had more to learn from the people I work with than I could ever hope to teach them. -Mortenson.

//I have to agree with Mortenson here. I have never really taken time to think about it, but I guess that we really are the country that has to accomplish everything quickly. That's all we know how to do, we do not know anything else. However, traveling to Pakistan, Mortenson got to see that life doesn't always have to move in fast motion.//

-Rachel 5-22-08 4:26 pm

Chapters 13-14
 * Entry 5**

Summary: Mortenson returns to Pakistan after marrying Tara and becoming head of the CAI. His goal now is to scout out other villages to see if there are any other areas that he would like to build a school in. He travels to Waziristan, an isolated part of Pakistan. However, while he is there, he disregards Haji Ali's advice and sets of on his own. He thinks he is in good hands. However, one night he is kidnapped by a group of veterans of the Afghan guerilla war against the Soviets. He is taken to a place that is unfamiliar to him and is forced to like in a small metal room for approximately a week. After the week is over, he is freed and he returns to Tara soon enough to see his daughter be born. Meanwhile, Jean Hoerni has been diagnosed with leukemia and only has a few months to live. His dying wish is to see a picture of the Korphe school that he helped fund. Mortenson shows him the picture and stays with him until he dies.

Connector:

When I was reading about Waziristan and how they did not interact with their neighbors, I could not help but compare them to Tokugawa Japan during the Shogunate period. Like Tokugawa Shogunate Japan, the Wazis were isolated from the rest of the world, and in particular, the rest of Pakistan. This, of course, was their own preference, and in turn, the people of Waziristan were never at war with anyone else. However, because they were isolated, the did lack westernization and were therefore very behind technologically (no phones).

While reading the assigned chapters, I could not help notice how Mortenson lied to Khan about the gender of his soon to be child. This, however, did not surprise me. Like most Asian societies we have learned about, male offspring were valued on a higher level than female offspring. Especially in Eastern Asia where China was a highly patriarchal society (most societies were). Female infanticide was also not uncommon. Mortenson lied because he thought he thought it would raise his chances of being freed from his prison.

-Rachel 5-23-08 7:40 pm

chapters 15-17
 * Entry 6**

Summary: Mortenson has built many schools all over Pakistan and Afghanistan with the money left by Jean. He is focusing more on educating women and the fact that women should receive equal education as men. He does, however, reach a snag in his plan. He is in danger of being kicked out of Pakistan because some people do not agree with Mortenson's ideas about educating women. In chapter 2, Mortenson receives news allowing him to stay in Asia and keep building his schools. The disagreements between Pakistan and India over the land of Kashmir are becoming more serious than ever. Many civilians are dying.

Researcher:

CAI (Central Asia Institute) CAI- a non profit organization that specializes in school based education, specifically for women. specific achievements: A typical CAI school usually costs less than 15,000 dollars to build. This is less than most schools are to build. This is because of the active village participation. School donations are also received. founder? GREG MORTENSON!
 * 66 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan
 * 526 employed educators
 * 25,000 educated students: 14,000 of those were females
 * provided education for the victims of the October 2005 earthquake.
 * In order for a school to be built in a village ,thatvillage needs to agree to increase female education by 10%

"Central Asia Institute." __Wikipedia__. 27 May 2008 <[|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Asia_Institute>.]

chapters 18-19
 * Entry 7**

Summary: CAI's money is running low and it seems to be taking a heavy toll on Greg Mortenson. In these chapters, Mortenson seems relativley depressed. He is not his usual self. He has gained a significant amount of weight and now relies heavily on donations. The Kargril conflict is still talked about during these chapters.More villages are requesting the construction of schools, however Mortenson seems to be moving at a slower pace than usual. He is hardly with his family, to which a member is added when Mortenson returns to America. Mortenson is in Pakistan on September 11, 2001 when the terrorist attacks on the US take place. Haji Alli, Mortenson's mentor since the beginning of his journey dies.

discussion director 1. Do you think that building too many schools in Pakistan is bad? If so, why? Do you believe that there is such a thing as too many schools?

2. Do you think that the schools in Pakistan that teach young women to practice Jihad are more popular than the schools that Mortenson is building? If so, why is this? Will Jihad ever be completely removed from society?

3. Compare and contrast(wow, AP really has rubbed off on me)how the 911 terrorist attacks effected the society in Pakistan, where Mortenson was at the time, and how they effected the United States. How did Mortenson find out about the attacks and how did people in the village view them? How did they feel about the attacks?

4. Since Haji Hali has now died, talk about some of the significant things that he has done in this book. Would Mortenson have accomplished so much without him? Posted 11 minutes ago

answer: 2. yes, I think that the schools in Pakistan that teach women Jihad are probably more popular than Mortenson's schools. Firstly, women in Pakistan are not used to receiving a formal education; it is all relatively new to them. They only know what their family members have done and since their family members have practiced Jihad, so will they. Jihad has been practiced since ancient times and will probably still be practiced long after I die. An aspect of culture that has played a prominent role in society is not just going to fade away quickly, if at all.

chapters 22-23
 * Entry 8**

summary: Mortenson returns to Afghanistan after the attacks of 9/11. He is appalled at how much the local hotel has been taken over with news reporters and televisors from America. He is disgusted that muslims are now seen in a bad light, even those that had no idea about 9/11. Mortenson is offered 2.2 million dollars by the government of Pakistan. He declines the offer however because he is not happy with what the government is doing. Some of the people whom he worked with through the CAI are now completely against him.

passage master: "These aren't the terrorists. These aren't the bad people." Blaming all Muslims for the horror of 9/11, Mortenson argued, is "causing innocent people to panic." (pg. 268)

I agree with this Mortenson here. People should not blame all Muslims for what happened. Most of them are innocent and blaming them would only be an act of racism. Now that I think about it, all Muslims seem to be stereotyped for what happened that day in September. Earlier on in the book, one of our discussion questions was based on a quote from the novel.

"Americans are more willing to help Buddhists than Muslims" I now can fully back up this quote. Americans probably //are// more willing to help Buddhists. Muslims are seen in one light- and that light is not necessarily good.

chapters 21 and 22
 * Entry 9**

summary: Mortenson returns to Korphe in order to check up on the first school he build. Accompanying him on the journey is a reporter named Fedarko whos goal is to find a story in Pakistan. The reporter met with the village elders to see if he could get a story out of them. During the middle of the meeting, Jahan interrupts to talk to Mortenson about her after school education. Her goal is to be come a medical doctor, however neither her, or her father have the type of money to send her to graduate school. Mortenson gives her the money she needs so she would not have to work hard to receive the money. Shortly after this, a headline story about Mortenson is published in a magazine called Parade (thanks to Fedarko). Because of this, Mortenson's fame sky rockets. He receives loads of fan mail and money. Mortenson's next project? SCHOOLS IN AFGHANISTAN! Mortenson happened to meet the king of Afghanistan on a plane flight one morning and the king expressed interest in having schools in Afghanistan. Due to the King's orders, Mortenson takes a trip into Afghanistan to meet Sadhar Khan (an influential man). His journey there was not an easy one, and he was almost killed numerous times. At the end of the book, the two men meet and Mortenson starts a new project: schools in Afghanistan.

connector:

While reading about Mortenson's journey to meet Sadhar Khan, I was reminded of topics that we had discussed in History class. Mortenson, while in Afghanistan, is almost killed by two Opium dealers. Even though the Opium wars had ended a while ago and Opium was banned in most places, I now realize that just because it is illegal, does not mean it will not be sold in secret. I always thought of Opium as a thing of the past, but know I know better.

Jahan's story reminded me about another story I had read earlier in the year about Elizabeth Blackwell. Like Jahan, Elizabeth blackwell wanted to hold a medical degree. However, in the late 19th century it was unheard of for a women to be a doctor so Elizabeth was shunned by every medial school she applied to. Not about to give up, Elizabeth Blackwell wrote lettes to schools until she was finally admitted. Again shunned by her peers, Elizabeth perserviered and ended up becoming the first female doctor in America. Like Elizabeth's story, Jahan was also probably laughed at when she told people she wanted to be a doctor. Even though her story takes place more than 100 years later, it was still probably rare for females to be doctors.