Opposites. Day and night. Black and white. Oil and water. Antarctica and Africa. Opposites. Cultures can also be opposites. Just like the American and Pakistani cultures. An individual doesn’t realize what their culture provides for them until they experience the hardships of another culture. The American culture and the culture in which is shown in the novel Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin is certainly opposite. The difference between the lifestyles are so different, an American can only be glad they are fortunate enough to not have to live the hard life of a Pakistani but instead live a moderately easy life. Unlike the people in Pakistan, Americans have access to proper medical services, enough food and a good education.
“The nearest doctor was a week’s walk away.” (30) Just this small line gives you a slight preview into what it would be like as a person from the mountain village of Korphe. It also reflects a little about how different and opposite the American and Pakistani cultures are. In America, we complain about the wait for the emergency room. A common thing you hear about the emergency room is that “we had to wait hours just to get there.” Well, try having to wait 168 hours-the equivalent of one week-just to get to the regular doctors. The government of the United States would never allow a citizen to wait that long to see a doctor especially if it was an emergency. It just goes to show you how different the two cultures go and how easy it is to take something like medical services for granted.
Would Americans let one in three children die before they reach age one. NO. No they definitely wouldn’t. An American child is fortunate enough to be provided with three meals a day and several snacks. This is standard and normal for the U.S. however not in Korphe. These children in Korphe are lucky to eat twice a day. The majority of the kids in Korphe suffer from a form of malnutrition that turns their hair red. “The children, whose ginger hair he had admired, owed it’s color to a form of malnutrition called Kwashiorkor.” (30) Because these children’s families can’t afford to feed them they have to suffer the consequences. Americans don’t realize how fortunate they are until they experience such a different way of life.
An American classroom: one highly educated teacher; around 30 unmotivated students; plenty of learning opportunities. Education in Korphe: 78 boys, 4 girls all eager to learn; no school building; no supplies; no full time teacher. Americans take for granted the fact that all children have the opportunity to a good education. Americans take for granted the fact that they have a teacher who is always there. In Korphe, the village can only afford a teacher for 3 days a week. They cannot afford the $1 a day salary that would be needed to keep a teacher all days of the week. The children want to learn. They have the motivation that many American kids lack. The supplies that they are lacking in order to learn are just taken for granted in America.
Throughout the whole novel, the differences between the two cultures become more and more apparent. This is mostly because the children in Korphe lack a large amount of things that Americans just take for granted. Unless an American takes the time to go to Pakistan they will never fully understand the differences between the cultures. The question that remains is: are these two cultures so opposite that they will never see eye to eye? With the help of Greg Mortenson and many other people, it is possible.
