Have you ever ventured off your path in life and wondered why? In 1993 mountaineer Greg Mortenson ventured off his path, literally, and changed not only the course of his life but thousands others.
 
The book “Three Cups of Tea One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace… One School at a Time ” tells the incredible story of how one man’s failure to summit K2 led to a passion for educating children in Northern Pakistan.

Greg’s journey begins with a failed attempt on the world’s second tallest mountain, K2. Upon descent Greg gets lost and wanders into a small Pakistani mountain village. The village took in the weary American, and before leaving Greg vowed to return one day to build them a school.

Greg did build the school and in doing so found a new path in life. In 1996, with the financial support of Swiss physicists Jean Hoerni, he started the Central Asia Institute or CAI. The CAI focused on building schools in the small villages of the Karakoram mountains in northern Pakistan.

The book paints a pre and post 9/11 picture of what life is like in the region. In his quest Greg learns many hard lessons about the culture and even finds himself in life threatening situations.

In mountains where Taliban fighters train and Osama Bin Laden may be hiding, Greg has built school after school promoting education as a pathway to peace.

If you ever questioned you path in life, felt a need to contribute, need inspiration, or wanted to know more about a culture so many Americans know little about, this Three Cups of Tea is a must read!
 
BUY - Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time

More Resources:
Central Asia Institure
 

Dengue Fever is a serious disease passed on by mosquitoes. Though it is not common in the US it is a serious disease in many tropical countries.

Why do I care about dengue, (pronounced Den-gee)? I’ve had it and still feeling the effects.

In September of 2007 I was working in eastern Jamaica after Hurricane Dean. Water was still standing and mosquitoes and insects were really bad.

A few days after returning home I got very sick. I had fevers of 105 and my body was in incredible pain. At first I thought it was malaria. After some research I learned there was an outbreak of dengue in eastern Jamaica. I went back to my doctor for tests and tested positive for dengue. Note: The test is simple blood work test and mine was sent to a lab so I found out a few days after test.

Knowing what I had brought some relief. After researching the disease further however, I saw that recovery takes a long time.

My acute phase lasted a little over a week. I probably should have been hospitalized but did not test positive until after the acute phase.

Once the acute phase is over you still feel the effects. I learned that this is somewhat different for each person. For me the pain in my joints, especially legs, made it painful to walk. Extreme fatigue, sore eyes, and sometime confusion (yes more so than I am now) are common.

It’s been nearly ten months since I contracted dengue and I still have pain and fatigue. It is not as bad and seems to be “slowly” getting better, but it does effect how I live. I really cannot eat a lot during the day because that seems to increase the fatigue and pain as do certain foods. I am still experimenting on if high carbs or protein make it worse. Also if I get a cold the symptoms get much worse.

Through the Internet I have found people who have finally recovered from dengue but they said they endured its effects for months or years afterwards. They also had to make lifestyle adjustments.

There is no vaccine for dengue just prevention. Always check the CDC site to countries you are traveling for disease news and outbreaks. Mosquito repellent is a must! If possible stay in air conditioned rooms.

Below is an excellent article I came across on Dengue
Dengue Article

Hey-

I am currently making some changes to my site without breaking anything. If you find a broken link or something else wierd please let me know. Hope to have everything done in a few days.

thanks-
EB

The first half of March I went back to the Philippines with the group Mission Love Seeds. Click on the
  dispatch page below to see daily dispatches and further updates.

  Dispatch Main Page

  Last 3 Trip Dispatches