Reading: Three Cups of Tea

I’m currently reading Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time, the story of Greg Mortenson’s unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world’s second tallest mountain.

Mortenson’s story reinforces my belief that out of every failure can come a success, and is part travel book and part inspirational story.

As he was finishing his unsuccessful attempt at K2, Mortenson fell quite ill, and was sheltered and cared for in Korphe, a small and rather primitive village in Pakistan.  After he recovered, he promised to return and build a school for the village.  The story of the struggles to make the school a reality is a fascinating story of life, politics, culture, and the personal stories of the people in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The title of the book is based on a Baltistan proverb:

The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger.  The second time, you are an honored guest.  The third time you become family.

The school project has evolved into a foundation called the Central Asia Institute, responsible for 50 additional schools in the area. I’m only about half way through the book, and the first school hasn’t yet been built, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the story goes from here to there.

It’s a great read, and you can find it on Amazon in hardback, paperback, and in a Kindle edition.

 

Image credit:  Amazon