Chapters+5+&+6

Chapter 6: Rawalpindi's Rooftops at Dusk/Hard Way Home**
 * Chapter 5: 580 Letters, One Check

One important scene in chapter 5 is when Greg Mortneson is on the phone with rich scientist, Dr. Jean Hoerni. Jean is rude to Greg, and seems like he is stuck-up and not a very nice person. He asks Greg how much money Greg needs to build the school, and Greg tells him $12,000, and Jean agrees to give him the money with no hesitation. When Jean sends Greg the money, he includes a letter that says "Don't screw up. Regards, J.H." This is important because without the money from Jean Hoerni, Greg would have never been able to get enough funds to start the building of the school. Also, this shows what kind of person Jean Hoerni is. It reflects him in almost a negative way, making him sound sort of rude when he "barks" at Greg. --This scene is also important because it not only introduces us to scientist Jean Hoerni, but it shows us more about him and how is different from many other people. Jean Hoerni is at first wary of Greg, but after speaking with him more about what Greg was trying to do he didn't hesitate to send Greg the money. This says a lot about Jean Hoerni, because he is the first rich person in the book that we meet who is willing to make a large donation. His act was an act of selflessness and he asked for nothing in return, which shows that he was a good, caring person.

Another important scene in Chapter 5 is the scene in which Greg receives the letter from his mother explaining that the children in her school had raised $632.45 by donating pennies to "Pennies for Pakistan." This scene is important because it says a lot about the adults that had yet to make donations and a lot about how education can affect a population. The children of the school had made the first donation to Greg's effort because they felt for the children that had to learn outside in the bad weather and with no teacher. The children didn't question about where the children of Pakistan came from, they didn't question their religion or their race, they simply cared. In America, Muslims are often feared and treated disrespectfully, but what these children did is proof that if we teach children more about the culture in third-world countries, that could end. And if that could change how American children feel about people there, if we educated the children of Pakistan (and other third-world countries) it could change the way that people there think about the people here. -This is also important because it shows how even small things, like pennies, add up and can really make a change in the world. Without these children's pennies, Greg wouldn't have gotten started to do the amazing accomplishments he has done now. Also, it shows that even children can make a difference in the world. They are the ones who helped give a lot of money to help the education of the children in other countries. -"What we are trying to do may be just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." -Greg Mortenson. Everyone has the ability to make a difference.

In chapter 6, an important scene is when Greg learns about the tea from Abdul. He starts to understand about how people from Pakistan drink tea with someone when they first meet them, so they can be introduced to each other, and get to know each other. Greg had to have tea with Abdul and talk to him about the cement before they could go out and get working. --Another reason that this scene is important is because drinking the tea is an important part of the culture that Greg has found himself in, and the people of that culture are patient and tend to evaluate situations and think before they act. This is unlike Greg himself, but his taking part in this slows him down, if only for a moment, and brings him closer to the people that he is trying to help. To the people of Pakistan, that is an important part of their culture and if Greg had not embraced it as he had, he would not have been as successful as he has been. Also, this proves that Greg really does care about the people of Pakistan. If he did not care about them, he wouldn't want to learn about their religion and their practices, but since he does care, he wants to try and make friends, fit in, and learn all about what they do and why they do it. It shows that Greg is a good person, who cares about what he does, which is building schools for children of Pakistan. This shows he respects other religions, and is willing to learn about them, as well as practice them with the people of Pakistan.

Another important scene, also in Chapter 6, is when Greg asks for Manzoor to teach him how to pray. When asked if he is a Muslim, Greg responds "I respect Islam." Manzoor then begins to teach Greg to pray, instructing him on where to face, the correct posture to hold when kneeling, and how to bend stiffly forward against the prayer mat. This scene is important because it shows us that Greg is willing to embrace Islam, which in turn brings him closer to its people. Greg's willingness to change himself and alter his actions in order to adapt to a new environment is a sign of strength and respect, and it is with his genuine attitude towards a culture which few people understand that he forged a bond with the people of Pakistan and began his own, personal, War on Terror - building one school at a time.

Another important scene in chapter 6, is when Greg goes to get his shirt tailored, and it's prayer time. So he asks if the tailor can teach him how to pray. Greg prays with the other men at the gas station. This scene is important because it is the first time in which Greg not only attempts to practice their religion among them, but begins to fully understand and embrace what it means to be a part of it. In the book, it is written that "...for the first time, kneeling among one hundred strangers, watching them wash away not only impurities, but also, obviously, the aches and cares of their daily lives, he glimpsed the pleasure to be found in submission to a ritualized fellowship for prayer." This is important because it is a real turning point for Greg. Now not only does he see them, but he is one of them. He really adapted to the life of a Pakistani, and truly cares to be part of their society. He really does want to learn all about their ways of life, and wants to do as they do to prove that he respects them and he is not trying to change them at all. If he starts off by praying with them and respecting their religion, it will show he respects their culture, and he isn't going to try to brainwash them and teach them American traditions in the schools he is building. This will gain the admiration to Greg from the people of Pakistan, so they can trust him when he builds the schools.

-Nicole Grant