been reading: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

"The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family..." (p. 150)

You need to read this. I don't often (ever?) suggest one book for everyone, but this time I'm going all English teacher on you guys and giving a reading assignment. In fact, it was my former English teacher, and dear friend, who insisted I read this book.

It is not a novel, although it pretty much reads like one. It is the story of a man who has devoted his life to building schools. In Pakistan. Here's how it all began: the people of a tiny Pakistani village named Korphe gave shelter, food, and friendship to a weary, broken mountain climber named Greg. And in return, he built a school for their children. For their boys and girls. It was, of course, much more complicated than that. And also much more successful than he'd ever imagined. And so he built another school in another Pakistani village. And another. And another. He's still going today, in Pakistan and Afganistan. He believes that education, especially for girls, is the most powerful way to secure the future and prosperity of the region's residents and to combat its religious extremists. (This PARADE article describes his mission in more depth.)

He's had fatwas issued against him. He's been kidnapped. He's risked his life in many ways and sacrificed nearly all that he has. And as a result, one young woman - the first in Korphe to be educated - is going to medical school. And there are many more like her.

I read this during our recent trip; Rob was simultaneously reading Hot, Flat, and Crowded. He soon decided that Thomas Friedman's book was perhaps not the best choice for vacation reading material, given its thorough (and thoroughly depressing) accounting of the immense challenges we face, nationally and globally. Rob would relate discouraging tidbits at dinner that left us all deflated. And so I would feel compelled to counter with an uplifting account from the book I was reading. Together, I think these books create a powerful view of today's world, of both the problems and the potential.

The value in reading Three Cups of Tea is threefold. First, simply as a story, it is remarkable. The unlikely friendships Mortenson forges and the situations (equally dangerous and hilarious) he finds himself in throughout his quest are reasons enough to read.

The book also provides a more accurate, complete portrayal of Muslims, including the compassion inherent in their culture. We need to be reminded of that so we don't continue to lump everyone together, to judge an entire group of people by the actions of a relative few who do not, in fact, represent the whole.

And finally, the book provides something else we need, I think, even more desperately: inspiration. As our challenges loom larger and larger, there are many experts willing to expound, prioritize, research, and suggest solutions. And there is certainly value in this contribution to the conversation. I have respect for Friedman and all the rest. But there is something to be said for tackling a problem oneself, for making it personal in the best possible way. For seeing that education and empowerment are worthy alternatives to oppression and overpowering. I don't believe one person, not even Greg Mortenson, can change the world alone. But who can say where one person, one school, one cup of tea might lead?