TCOT essay test # 4

The plot of "Three Cups of Tea" is similar to a mountain climb; I even thought that when I was reading it. In the beginning of the book it talks about Mortenson trying to summit K2, the second tallest mountain in the world. He has many problems occur during his long voyage. From natural disasters, to getting lost, and separated from the group leaving Mortonson without supplies for days.
To begin with, when Mortenson came across the small village of Korphe, and learned about how they had no schools, supplies, or even teachers to help educate the children he was appalled. He could not believe his own eyes; so he made a promise to the village's chief that he would come back and build them a school. It took Mortenson years to raise the money and get back to Pakistan to start building the school. That and buying the supplies, and getting them to where he wanted the school was a great struggle. Mortonson ran into several problems with people, money issues,or not enough of this, or that. When all said and done Mortonson accomplished his goal, and he ended up descending the mountain of obstacles as things ran more smoothly, and several more schools were built to help educate children.
The actual mountain climb, and the twists and turns of building the first school relates to the plot of the story because it too was like a mountain climb. When somebody first suggested to Mortenson that he should make a book he was thinking that was impossible, and he did not even know how to start. When he finally got with someone to write the book it took so long to put it together, and it was real stressful. All of the events in the book were hard to place in an understandable order because so much went on; a lot was said and done. From Mortenson traveling village to village, and back and forth between countries; along with a bunch of cities that were mentioned though out. It was hard as a reader to keep up with, and to understand the book, therefore I would defiantly consider "Three Cups of Tea" a book full of ups and downs literally and mentally because it was so hard to comprehend.

TCOT essay test # 3

Reading this book had affected the way I look at my education. To start with I am very grateful that girls are allowed to have an education here in the U.S. I could not begin to imagine how life would be if I were illiterate. Going to school and getting and education is one of the most important things in order to have a lifelong, rewarding career. Especially in the United States, you don't have much of a chance of getting a job unless you prefer to do fast food for the rest of your life.
Another reason why after reading this book has changed the way I look at my education is the fact that we actually have buildings to attend school in. When I read that they were outside in the cold weather scratching their lessons in the dirt with sticks I could not believe it. I had to reread that paragraph just to make sure. In Pakistan they don't have supplies either so it did not surprise me that the more "fortunate" children had a slab that they wrote on with sticks dipped in mud. What a great upgrade.
To conclude, I am very proud that I live in a free country, and that I don't have to worry about being left out of a great opportunity base on my gender. I'm grateful that here in America there are schools, supplies, and laws that don't discriminate against gender, and they keep everyone in line. Even if families can't afford to send their children to school there is still help to ensure that everyone has a chance at an education. Although I am happy to find out that Mortenson's plan had worked. Now all of those children in the remote parts of Pakistan can have a chance at something else in life besides farming.

~ Into Thin Air ~

In the story "Into Thin Air" there were so many problems that you easily lost count. So many things happen, and very few of them were positive ; most ended in a tragedy. To start with,the intolerable weather conditions that these people endured during the time they were on their journey. Their goal was to summit Mount Everest, the worlds tallest mountain which rises to a point a little higher than 29,000 feet. The higher they travel up the mountain the more extreme the weather gets. The oxygen level is so poor that climbers make irrational decisions. 26,000 feet is considered the 'Death Zone'. Winds were so fierce that they sounded like 747 jet planes, also the winds were so harsh towards the climbers that it felt like they were being whipped. With extremely low temperatures and a windchill of minus a 100 degrees ice accumulated on their faces, and if they did not clean it of regularly it could become frostbite. Other problems were that because of the weather peoples health was greatly affected. There were so many injuries. Some people had frostbite so bad that they had to get amputations. Many were sleep deprived; some were even beyond help because they went in, and out of consciousness. On top of that, things got worse when people got lost because they were separated from their group. Many people were found dead ,and some bodies were never recovered; they more than likely had fallen into a abyss, or they could of been buried by heaps of snow. The progress of the trip was slow because of the bad weather conditions, and rough terrain. This voyage was longer than most people could endure. There were definitely not many camps to rest in. Many in this story made it to the summit but had lost their lives making their decent. One man named Hall died the night after he talked to his wife; they were expecting their first child together. Hall was a determined man, with a high tolerance to pain. It was too bad that he had died doing something he enjoyed so much.

What does this mean? (To me)

"Even an ordinary person can in a small way turn on a tiny light in a dark room."

When something small is done to the advantage of everybody the ripple effect takes place. Soon they are following, and helping others too. You may become the leader or even their hero. Sometimes even the slightest change can make a difference for many people.