Aaron

Aaron

Chapters 1-3 Summary: Three Cups of Tea begins with the story of Greg Mortenson, who while attempting to scale the mountain called K2, ended up in a village called Korphe. ** the story then goes back to what happened on the mountain that would lead Mortenson to arrive in Korphe. Mortenson and Darsney rested before starting the climb up to help their friend. Pratt and Mazur the two other climbers were carrying Fine down the mountain and when Mortenson and Darsney joined them. Eventually after an **unsuccessful rescue by helicopter for Fine, the team continued to climb down the mountain to a lower checkpoint where a helicopter could reach them. after resting for a few days Mortenson and Darsney decided to continue down the mountain. The two met up with their guide named Mouzafer, and continued down K2. Each day, Mouzafer would move ahead to set up camp because Mortenson moved slower than the other two. this was when Mortenson got lost, he took a wrong turn, and ended up in the village of Korphe. he was brought back to the village he was supposed to go to, called Askole, but soon returned to Korphe. he soon found out that they had no school, heartbroken by this news, Mortenson promised to build them a school.

researcher: K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth after Mount Everest at 28,251 ft, and is part of the Karakoram Range, which is the border between China and Pakistan. K2 is known as the Savage Mountain due to it's degree of difficulty to ascend, it has the second highest fatality rate and has never been climbed in winter, it is simply too dangerous. the village of Korphe is located just at the base of the Karakoram Range, a map of it's location is below.

[|Korphe, Pakistan Map]

Encyclopedia Britannica Travel and geography: K2 [] accessed, tuesday, May 4, 2010

Chapter 4-6 Summary: Chapter four begins with a flashback to all of Mortenson's childhood in Tanzania, Minnesota, and then California. Mortenson lived in Tanzania for the first 14 years of his life with his 3 sisters. at age 11 he climbed his first mountain, Killamanjaro. when his family returned to the United States, Mortenson soon joined the army.just after Vietnam. when his dad died, he moved to California to become a nurse and a climber. he spent his time taking the shifts that nobody wanted so that he could have time to climb. after his sister died, Mortenson felt no drive to be a nurse or a climber until he got the call asking if he would be the medic for the K2 climb. He accepted this challenge and honored his sister's death with the climb. at the end of the section, Mortenson has gotten money from various sources including he's mother's school for the school in Korphe. i think that this section shows that great events can create great individuals, Mortenson would'nt have noticed the school if he had not taken the wrong turn and fate led him to Korphe.

Connector Chapter 4-6

Chapter 7-10 on the morning when Mortenson is supposed to make his trip back to Korphe, it takes all day for the supplies to be loaded into the truck hired for the trip. A crowd of people gather to watch the loading process and when all the goods have been accounted for, Abdul offers a prayer for safe journey. The onlookers join in a cry of //Allah Akbhar//, which means “God is great.” Mortenson travels atop the bed of supplies through a gorge when they are stopped by local militia-men who didn't get from the government what they had asked for. eventually, they came to an agreement, and they let Mortenson's troupe pass. Mortenson realizes that he needs to store the building materials in Skardu until he can arrange transportation for the rest of the trip to Korphe. He goes to Ali Changazi, a friend who made the arrangements for the K2 climb, and Changazi agrees to keep the goods in his warehouse. Akhmalu, cook from the expedition, appears and persuades Mortenson to fulfill his promise to visit Akhmalu’s village. At the village, Mortenson finds himself the object of an unexpected dispute, the two groups that are arguing both want Mortenson to build his school there, but they can't decide what kind it should be. Mortenson says he has promised to build the school in Korphe, but the villagers quarrel through the night while eating the feast intended to impress Mortenson.when he gets back to Korphe, Mortenson discovers that before he can build a school, the village needs a bridge built. his girlfriend dumps him.he manages to get money for the bridge from some guy named Jean. i think this still shows that great men can create great things, Mortenson is able to fight all odds to find extra money for supplies for a bridge along his quest to build the school. Director: where does someone find such strength to conquer all such odds.

chapter 11-13 Mortenson returns to California and works as in an emergency room and lives in a small apartment. Marina wants to reconcile with him, but he feels that she is not hte right woman for him, so he spends his time working. he makes contact with Jean Hoerni, the man who gave him money for the bridge earlier, and they finally meet in person. Mortenson is invited to the American Himalayan Foundation dinner. while there, a hero to Mortenson, Sir Edmund Hillary speaks, and Mortenson is inspired by him to build the school again. he is surprised by Hoerni and McCown, who offer a large sum of money to his cause ($20,000). Mortenson also meets Tara Bishop, a psychology graduate student and daughter of a noted //National Geographic// photographer. the two immediately feel a connection to one another, and six days later they get married. Mortenson postpones his trip back to Pakistan for another 2 weeks to spend time with his new wife. when Mortenson gets back to Korphe, he cannot find Changazi, he recieves help from Changazi's accountant and locates him and the building supplies in an abandoned hotel, where one third of the materials are missing, but Mortenson feels that he has enough to bring to Korphe. when he arrives in Korphe, he finds little work has been done, but realizes that one more winter won't make a difference when they haven't had a school in 600 years. Mortenson returns to america for Thanksgiving with Tara and Hoerni, who states that he wants to make a foundation, called CAI (central Asia Institute), and make Mortenson it's director. it's mission would be to make as many schools as it could for various places. tara becomes pregnant, and the two move to montana, to be closer to her parents. back in Pakistan, a corrupt leader says that girls should not be educated according to the Koran, and demands have of the village's wealth.Mortenson is taken captive by Taliban insurgents, and spends 8 days in captivity, with a Koran, and an old Time magazine. he explains what he is doing in Pakistan, and his captors take him blinfolded in a truck to a place where the Taliban are celebrating, they make peace with Mortenson and give him money for his project.

this section really shows the amount of work Mortenson put into this project, the many events that transpired against him, when the materials went missing, when he was kidnapped, and when the leader told the leader of the village that he didn't want girls learning. these were all events try to push Mortenson's goal in the other direction, but like his climbing, he was determined enough to continue the climb towards the top, he is facing many challenges and cliffs, but each time he defies these events and people trying to stop him, he just keeps going and finds another way.

Passage Master:pg 150: talks about time in other places, in america we want everything done quickly, whereas in other places, everything is done a little slower, the people or Korphe didn't mind waiting another winter to build the school. pg136: when Mortenson can't fine Changazi, there are more setbacks including the missing materials, which are unexplained.

Chapter 14-15 in Chapter 14, Mortenson's daughter is born at home, in Montana, her name is Amira. Mortenson learns that Heorni is dying of a form of Leukemya and needs to see a picture of the finished school before he dies. he goes back to Korphe, and finishes the school. just before winter arrives. Mortenson returns to america with pictures and takes his family to idaho, where Heorni lives, who dies on January 27, 1997. Hoerni leaves the CAI an endowment of $1 million to ensure that the organization is able to continue its work. A surprise phone call notifies Mortenson that he is the subject of a religious indictment, issued by a cleric in the Braldu valley. The cleric says that Mortenson is at fault for educating girls. Mortenson refuses to bribe the cleric and instructs Parvi to find a more powerful religious figure who will stand against the fatwa. Reluctantly, Mortenson leaves his family and returns to Pakistan, where he gathers all of his allies for a meeting.he sets out to build more schools as quickly as possible, and in six months, he oversees the building of 3 more schools. at the end of the chapter, the first school in Korphe is dedicated and the ashes or heorni are scattered in the Braldu river. in this case, i think that the actions of the people around Mortenson really contributed to his success, Haji Ali, Heorni, and his wife Tara all were factors keeping Mortenson on track. so in this case, i believe that great events influenced the great man Mortenson.

Researcher. [|Braldu Valley] [|the first school in Korphe] [|CAI website] there is an e-newspaper named after his daughter.

Connector through Chapter 19 Chapter 16-19 in chapter 16, mortenson meets the Syed Abbas, the Shiite religious leader of the area, based in Iran. Mortenson is then told that his work does not go against the Koran, and he has the support of the Religious Leaders of the Shia sect. then we hear the story of Mohammad Aslam Khan, who was sent away from his home in the Hushe valley to go to school. when he returned, he realized that his own village needed many things, including a school, and sent Mortenson a letter about it. a year later, Mortenson was attempting to fight a political battle to get a school build in a nearby village. when Mortenson meets Aslam and has tea with him, the two agree that the funds for the other village should be transferred to Hushe. Within 3 months, the school is built. Realizing the importance of female education, Mortenson ties CAI funding for schools to continued increases in the enrollment of girls. The CAI provides water systems for five villages, hires teachers for Afghan students living in refugee camps in northern Pakistan, brings an American eye surgeon to provide cataract surgery, and sends Baltistan’s only eye doctor to Nepal for special training. meanwhile, Mortenson has become a heroic figure to many Pakistanis. in chapter 17, the first person we hear is Fatima Batool describing the fighting that occurs during the “Kargil Conflict” between India and Pakistan in 1999. Her sister is killed, and Fatima’s family is among many displaced from their homes and forced to a camp on the outskirts of Skardu. When the refugees receive no help from the Pakistani government or from relief agencies, Syed Abbas approaches Mortenson to help provide fresh water. The CAI also builds a school for the girls in the settlement. Mortenson meets two men from the Taliban, who express their approval of President Bill Clinton, who had recently gone into bosnia to stop the slaughter of muslims there. we learn about the war torn history of Pakistan and India, who have been fighting over the area known as Kashmire since the British pulled out and gave it back to the two religious groups, the Muslims, and the Hindus. Mortenson begins making presentations to attract money for the CAI in Chapter 18, but very few people show up to these. eventually, Mortenson gets some media coverage, and his speeches become filled regularly. Mortenson retreats to his Montana home. Members of the CAI board are concerned about his health, and also frustrated by his disorganization. Finally, he agrees to hire an assistant, begin working with a therapist, and learn more about management. Mortenson travels to Bangladesh and Calcutta, and is revitalized to start working again, but the american public's indifference to people in need in the Middle East holds him back.Chapter 19 takes place in September 2001, and is mainly about the government in pakistan, which becomes ruled by martial law at this time. Mortenson learns of the attacks on the world trade center while he is meeting with two leaders about building more schools. he is flown under tight security to a place where Syed Abbas expresses his sympathy to the American people, and specifically hopes that american's don't think of all Pakistani's as terrorists. the chapter ends when Mortenson returns to Korphe only to learn the Haji Ali has died, and Mortenson spends time reflecting on his previous meeting with Haji Ali about his promise to continue his mission. i still feel that even though events conspire against Mortenson, his actions and determination define this novel, saying that great individuals create great events. it is a reoccurring theme, that something happens, and he fights against it, making new events.

Connector: how do we see Pakistani's based on the attacks on 9/11 how do we see islam based on the most extreme groups and extreme sects of it.

Chapters 19-21 shortly after 9/11, Mortenson arrives back in Pakistan to find that the Marriot there has been overrun by the media, they are camped out there waiting for a war with Afganistan begins, and the Taliban have closed the boarder to all foreigners. even mortenson is not allowed in, they took his passport and ripped a page out of it, rendering the document false and invalid. The American Embassy in Islamabad will not issue a new one and Mortenson travels to Nepal to visit the consulate there. Some men, presumably from the CIA, who are suspicious of his activities interview him, but he eventually gets a temporary passport. Despite the escalating dangers in the region, he returns to Islamabad to complete the work he had planned for the trip. At the beginning of November he stops briefly at home in Montana, where he finds stacks of “hate mail” from Americans who consider him a traitor. However, he also receives letters of support, and as the chapter ends, he is welcomed warmly at a CAI fundraiser in Seattle. by february 2002, Mortenson returns to Pakistan, though it is still considered the most dangerous place for Americans on Earth. as for the essential question, great events have recently happened in the book, and i feel that they are only ways that Mortenson can combat them stronger.

Discussion Director. do you think that Mortenson's program has the capacity to grow in this time, when terrorism is such a huge scare, and people are calling him a traitor? do you think that the balance has changed, regarding the essential question. is mortenson now reacting to events that transpire? do you think it's worth it to for Mortenson to continue to try to achieve his goal and fullfil his promise to Haji Ali. do you think it's possibly for Mortenson to fulfill his promist to Haji Ali.

Chapter 22-23 a reporter from Parade Magazing finds Haji Ali's granddaughter and writes a cover story on Mortenson. people in America found hist work to be an alternative to war, and donations to the CAI pour in. This new support allows Mortenson to give raises to the Pakistani employees and accept an increase in his own salary. He also rents an office for himself and hires a small staff. In addition, the money makes it possible to start new projects in Pakistan for students continuing their education. but a Fatwa is raised against him again, and one of his schools is destroyed. The case goes before a conservative Muslim court and not only is the fatwa lifted, but the cleric is ordered to pay for damages to the school. Mortenson meets with a powerful Pakistani official who seeks his advice on how best to spend government funds in the region. at the end of Chapter 23, Mortenson says he wants to honor the fallen soldiers by building schools.

passage master pg 331 pg 329