Your Voice Counts!

This book is a fascinating account of one mountaineer’s determination to deliver on a promise to build a school. This promise changed Greg Mortenson’s own life as much as tens of thousands of others as his first dream to bring a school to Korphe turned into a lifetime commitment to humanitarianism, education of boys and girls, and larger pursuits to advance the alleviation of abject poverty in Pakistan and Central Asia.

The meaning of the title of the book, Three Cups of Tea only becomes clear later in the text. I encourage you to think about what that means, and how you relate it to your own life and passions. Greg says it was the most important lesson of his life. Also, the book contains many rich lessons on humanitarian action and the challenges of development assistance. Greg had it backwards at first: despite setting out to build a school, he had first to build a bridge. That bridge had to bring together different cultures, understandings, peoples, friendships and trust, as much as two sides of a deep chasm that separated the village from the roads that would get the supplies for the school building up the rugged mountains. The imperative of building a bridge first was a powerful metaphor and lesson for the whole book, and me, too. How often have I tried to accomplish something before building the bridge to make it possible? Much of life and commitment to peace building is found in the bridge-making itself. A life’s journey in peace and justice can’t go far without building bridges.

Janie
Dr. Janie Leatherman
Director of International Studies
Professor of Politics
Fairfield University
1073 North Benson Road
Fairfield, CT 06824

Phone: 203 254-4000 extension 3429
Fax: 203 254-5513

As you finish reading 3 Cups of Tea and prepare to begin your 4 year “climb” at Fairfield, I encourage you to take the time to reflect upon how this book relates to your future at Fairfield University.

Mortenson was a man struggling to find his true passion in life. He knew what he liked, but he wanted to know what gave purpose to his life. He found it while getting lost hiking down a mountain. As you enter Fairfield this fall, you will be presented with many experiences within the classroom, your residence halls and within the greater Fairfield Community. As you engage in these opportunities, try to discover your true passion. I hope you use the next four years to discover YOUR PURPOSE

Have you had the A-HAH moment that led you to change direction in your life? Share your story by clicking on the Comments link, below.

This book challenges us to consider what it means to be a foreigner adapting to another culture. Mara Giarratana Young, an RA from Regis Hall shares her experiences with foreign cultures at Fairfield University…

I come from the San Francisco Bay Area. The overwhelming number of cultures which reside in San Francisco and vie for space in this tiny city alone is shocking. On the way to school on the city bus you might hear people yapping away in Mandarin, Cambodian, Laotian, Spanish, Japanese, Cantonese, Russian, Cambodian or Korean. (It takes very little time before one is able to distinguish and recognize the sounds of one language from another.) Yet when I arrived at Fairfield University, at the very brink of living on my own, I came upon the most foreign culture I have yet encountered: the college student culture. All my previously cultivated habits from high school went right back to California with my parents. The academics, the mass-produced cafeteria food, the professors, the students, the dorm life… everything about college is a new experience. Should I stay up with my new friends to watch the sunrise? Maybe I’ll eat ice cream for breakfast. Perhaps I feel partial for a jaunt around campus at three AM when the full moon is at its largest. Never again will I have to wake up before nine if I plan my schedule carefully! The possibilities are endless with the newfound freedom this culture allows.

In reflection, dorm life was the largest challenge of my freshman year. Read the rest of this entry »

“Three Cups of Tea” is an inspiring story of a man beating the odds by doing difficult things in dangerous places. It seems to me a useful book for freshmen readers as they open their minds to what they might make of their lives. I also hope it helps students to think critically. There are a range of provocative questions that are not addressed by the book, but that might help us think more deeply about how to make the world a better place. For instance, how did the Taliban come to power in the first place? The book does not dwell much on history, but my understanding was that under the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, there was a strong emphasis on the education of girls. How did the Taliban –a group of largely uneducated fighters—manage to push the Soviet army out of Afghanistan and eliminate the education of girls? In Pakistan, too, how did the leadership come to power and what sorts of education can we expect them to provide for their populace? More fundamentally, what evidence do we have from the book that education works to the ends we want it to? It seems to me that many Read the rest of this entry »

Read a fascinating look at US policy towards Pakistan and the contrasting work of Greg Mortenson in Nicholas Kristof’s July 13, 2008 NY Times Op-Ed piece.

Kristof writes, “Suppose that the United States focused less on blowing things up in Pakistan’s tribal areas and more on working through local aid groups to build schools, simultaneously cutting tariffs on Pakistani and Afghan manufactured exports. “  To read entire article, go to LINK

When asked, “Do you agree or disagree with the definition of ‘failed attempt’ by Mortenson?” Caitlin Scully, an RA from Gonzaga Hall responded in this way…

It is hard to say whether I agree or disagree with Mortenson’s definition of his failed attempt because it is about personal goals or dreams, and nobody has the right to judge another’s goals and dreams; we should only encourage and inspire others to do great things. My initial feeling is that although he did not reach his goal, which could be seen as a failure (especially in his eyes), he put his best effort into it and took a risk, from which he learned about himself and the challenges he might face in the future.

When you are in a situation and do not accomplish something at which you are working hard, it is frustrating and often, we feel as if we have failed. But, that is not the greatest perspective we can take on in hard situtations. The fact that Mortenson in this case, set a high goal and decided to take a risk and pursue that dream, shows great character, strength, and self-confidence. Sometimes we get may get stuck at a rocky place, and as one of my English professors used to say, “we cannot see the forest through the trees.” Looking at the big picture, you have gained so much by putting yourself out there, and you allowed others to see that side of you as well. To me, that is not failing. Immediate outcomes are often hard to see past, but taking a step back, allows us to flip the feelings of failure for feelings of pride and success for trying new things, for putting yourself out there. Read the rest of this entry »

As an incoming student, you may wonder why read Three Cups of Tea, a story that begins with failure? Greg Mortensen, a very experienced climber, expected to reach the top of K2 yet he failed. The Class of 2012, comprised of smart and successful students, expects to succeed at Fairfield. As with Mortensen, there may be walls or setbacks to success, or a redefining of what success is along the way. I am amazed at how a man who endured several personal hardships was able to build 55 schools on the other side of the world. His determination, persistence, vision, hard work and sacrifice are truly inspirational. He puts a human face on a part of our world that I find exotic and challenging to relate to when it appears nightly on the network news. Through this book, I discovered authentic people in rural Pakistan and Afghanistan that share our values of friendship, family, loyalty, persistence and education, and with whom we also have many differences.

The Library is here to help you succeed. It’s a place to come to study, see friends, attend lectures and events, and get research materials. It’s a place that offers services like group study and collaborative work areas, laptops, media, popular reading, a 24/7computer lab and cafe, and research help. Library staff is expert and caring.

I hope the DiMenna-Nyselius Library will become your “home away from home.”

Joan Overfield
Director of Library Services

Have you ever worked so hard at something that you were able to transform a failure into success? Share your story by clicking on the Comments link, below.