THREE CUPS OF TEA A Community Reading Program Sponsored by the

AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  OF  UNIVERSITY  WOMEN FREMONT,  CA

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Lively Discussion at Half Price Books Locate your pointer in the middle of the picture to see the caption.  Click to enlarge it. Use the web page back button to return the picture to its normal size.         Some fifteen avid readers of Three Cups of Tea snacked on cookies, drank Starbucks coffee and exchanged perspectives and information about author Greg Mortenson and his dream of building schools for children, especially girls, in Pakistan and Afghanistan.       The discussion session took place at Half Price Books on Boscell Road in Fremont at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, October 20.  The store graciously supplied a number of delicious snacks for the book talk.       Margaret (Marnie) Hartmann, of AAUW, passed along the background of the One Book, One Community program and reminded everyone that Greg Mortenson would be in town on March 3, 2009.       She introduced AAUW’s Alison Kieft who led the book talk.  “Alison,” said Marnie, “graduated from San Jose State, teaches art in the elementary schools and is never without a book.”       Alison began the book discussion with some information on the importance of tea in various societies.   She found out that tea is the most popular drink around the world after water and that tea, as we all know, played an important part in the forming of America.  She told a Japanese story about the importance of taking on new knowledge and new encounters with an “empty cup mind.”  “I hope,” she added, “you come to this discussion with an empty cup mind so as to absorb as much as possible.”       Based on several questions that Marnie asked the attendees here are some perspectives of Greg Mortenson and his vision and dream in the remote mountain villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan. As a mountain climber, Mortenson was not deterred by failure and discouragements.  He plowed on despite adversities – a good lesson for us all.  Climbers are known for their persistence.   His early life in Africa helped him to understand and mesh with other cultures and his ability to learn languages in his youth was also a key to his success.   Mortenson decided to build a school in Korphe because he was asked and because he saw that the children had a burning desire to learn using sticks on the ground to learn and draw letters.   His recuperation in Korphe changed the direction of Greg’s whole life.  This was the impetus to bring education to children and girls who had none.  “Something big happens to you in life and that propels you to do something big about it,” said one of the Three Cups of Tea readers.   When the question was asked:  Why give money to schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, one of the attendees said that the recent economic crisis showed how interconnected we all are around the world.   And that the greatest enemy to freedom and living together around the globe is ignorance.  She said that Greg fights that.   The group talked about Greg”s wife Tara and felt she is deserving of sainthood.  Did she worry when Greg left for countries that could hardly be called safe?  She said she used something called “functional denial” to get through the times he was there.  The group agreed that she was very supportive and understanding.   Back to Welcome Page