Justin Rudd’s Community Action Team presented “Three Cups of Tea” at the All Day Read on 2nd Street this Sunday. A story of inspiration and of passion, “Three Cups of Tea” explores the life of Greg Mortenson, a mountain climber whose attempt at K2 left him near death.
Nursed back to health by a Pakistani community nearby, Morteson vowed to return and build a school for the children he witnessed doing times tables in the dirt. Today, Mortenson’s efforts have gone on to build 58 schools in Pakistan and Central Asia.
The title comes from the Balti Proverb, “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…”
Local participants read the book non-stop for 9 hours at 15 minute intervals, while the audience sat in an impromptu living room of couches, chairs, and a reading light set up on the sidewalk on Second Street in Belmont Shore.
Sitting at the living room on and off throughout the day, I felt as though I had “shared tea” with many Long Beach residents. In a culture increasingly influenced by technology, it’s often nice to sit down in someone’s living room, even if it’s in the middle of the street, and get to know some new faces and hear a good story.
