Three Cups of Tea gave a great insight to the middle Eastern world. Gregg Mortenson saw something in this ethnic group of people that most didn't see. This book had a basic theme of trying to break the stereotype of Muslim people being extremist or terrorist. Gregg tried to show that these people need educated not fire arms . Gregg as lo talked of Afghanistan during Sept member 11Th, as the country did need Reconstruction,the "collateral damage" seemed awful. We as Americans only see and hear what our government and media wants us to hear, we don't know what life is like for them. Gregg saw and knew he needed to help those people.
I overall enjoyed the book. As I said previous he gave insight to the people of Pakistan. Before reading three cups of Tea I thought that the poor countries are African based. I also thought that the middle East has oil, these people are rich, they are greedy extremists. I didn't realized that they had such a poor school system. I liked that Gregg met good people of Pakistan that helped him Hajji Ali and shady people like changazi. It wasn't like everyone over there is wonderful. I found it a little bit odd that Gregg didn't want to spend more time with his family when his children were born. I would have thought the Tara and him would have had more arguments about it , but I guess she understood him.
Three cups of Tea helped me understand more about the middle Eastern culture than the "Salt" book did about the Chinese and the other cultures. The book gave me a better understanding of the Muslim faith and how it works. The book also helped in learning how terrorists are being brought up and how simple it is to fight the terrorists. All the Pakistani people need is a chance to succeed (not meant to rhyme) with an education.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Chapter 6
Finally, we're at the end of salt. I must say that this chapter was better than the last two. At least I can relate to food . I'm addicted to cheese so, it wasn't too bad. Learning the process of making ham could have been done with out. This chapter was a nice way to end part one.
I was surprised by the tedious process to takes to make ham. I thought you just throw a little bit of salt on it. It needs special care so that it doesn't become rotten and gross. I wouldn't have thought they laid the ham East to West to use the wind from Parma. I mean they had an efficient system in the seventh and eighth centuries. I would think the ham could have caused a few deaths in its time , but the people used a good motto. "If it smells bad don't eat it!".
Lets talk about cheese. What's the difference between fresh cheese and old cheese? You guessed it, salt. I've had ricotta cheese it isn't that appetizing. I just keep thinking spoiled milk and it makes me want to throw up. It seems like salt is an ingredient to life. Milk plus salt equals cheese. I couldn't imagine of the Chinese didn't establish salt. It was interesting to learn the origin of Parmesan cheese. The Romans have simple naming systems.
Salt vocabulary: Salomi derived from salt. What doesn't salt have an impact on. Back in the day salt was the new sheriff in town.
I was surprised by the tedious process to takes to make ham. I thought you just throw a little bit of salt on it. It needs special care so that it doesn't become rotten and gross. I wouldn't have thought they laid the ham East to West to use the wind from Parma. I mean they had an efficient system in the seventh and eighth centuries. I would think the ham could have caused a few deaths in its time , but the people used a good motto. "If it smells bad don't eat it!".
Lets talk about cheese. What's the difference between fresh cheese and old cheese? You guessed it, salt. I've had ricotta cheese it isn't that appetizing. I just keep thinking spoiled milk and it makes me want to throw up. It seems like salt is an ingredient to life. Milk plus salt equals cheese. I couldn't imagine of the Chinese didn't establish salt. It was interesting to learn the origin of Parmesan cheese. The Romans have simple naming systems.
Salt vocabulary: Salomi derived from salt. What doesn't salt have an impact on. Back in the day salt was the new sheriff in town.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
chapter 5
Well i just can't say enough about how I disliked chapter 5. It was extremely boring to me. I felt like taking some salt and putting it into my eyes. I thought this chapter didn't relate to salt as much as the other chapters. I'm not interested in merchants or spending , so it took me longer than usual to read. If I had to pick the best of the worst I would say learning about Venice was the most bearable part of this chapter.
Venice was named the city of merchants , which tied in with China. The communication between Kublai Khan and the pope show how salt can connect cultures. I mean Venice was a reliable supplier of salt, and china was the first to use salt. Well who would have put two and two together. In between my yawns there was a new way to harvest salt. Yay....I was surprised that the Chinese didn't take credit for it because many thought it was their technique.
The Chinese thought their salt was better, which was finner. My reasoning is that the finner the grains of salt are grounded , the larger quantity of salt is made. China has such a large population that the production of it made a large profit. The larger coarse grains of salt would take a lot more in whole to make the equivalent to the amount of the finner salt. Fine or coarse salt is useful to anyone. Over all salt helped several nations rise ( like the Chinese monopoly and the Venice merchants). Though this chapter was boring , the book itself is way more interesting.
Venice was named the city of merchants , which tied in with China. The communication between Kublai Khan and the pope show how salt can connect cultures. I mean Venice was a reliable supplier of salt, and china was the first to use salt. Well who would have put two and two together. In between my yawns there was a new way to harvest salt. Yay....I was surprised that the Chinese didn't take credit for it because many thought it was their technique.
The Chinese thought their salt was better, which was finner. My reasoning is that the finner the grains of salt are grounded , the larger quantity of salt is made. China has such a large population that the production of it made a large profit. The larger coarse grains of salt would take a lot more in whole to make the equivalent to the amount of the finner salt. Fine or coarse salt is useful to anyone. Over all salt helped several nations rise ( like the Chinese monopoly and the Venice merchants). Though this chapter was boring , the book itself is way more interesting.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
chapter 4
This chapter was boring to me. It felt to me like it went on about fish and different salt sauces. What was interesting was the origin of salary. I would have never thought that salary came from salt. This is because salt isn't a substance that is worth much today. Back then salt was extremely valuable.
Garum seemed like a delicacy because some thought it was gross while others used it on many of their dishes. Garum was an upper class sauce. It was used in "elaborate" dishes. It reminds me of wesabe sauce. It goes with raw Salmon to balance out the taste. That sauce is disgusting. I don't know how anyone can eat it. If I lived back then I would be apart of the people that found garum gross. What was also surprising that they made garum for the Jewish community.
I was surprised to read that Romans had purple dye. It was cool that murex produced the purple dye. The legend of Hercules dog made me think that Hercules had a sharpae or a chow. If anyone doesn't know they have a purple tongue.
Some how I just don't see how rotten fish organs could be appetizing let alone the juice in it. Now we get some of our fish foods from them, like sardines and Tuna. I don't like fish so I really wouldn't care for it. I' glad it vanished. I would think that garum could make people sick, but the chapter didn't say anything about that. ( i could have missed it)
Garum seemed like a delicacy because some thought it was gross while others used it on many of their dishes. Garum was an upper class sauce. It was used in "elaborate" dishes. It reminds me of wesabe sauce. It goes with raw Salmon to balance out the taste. That sauce is disgusting. I don't know how anyone can eat it. If I lived back then I would be apart of the people that found garum gross. What was also surprising that they made garum for the Jewish community.
I was surprised to read that Romans had purple dye. It was cool that murex produced the purple dye. The legend of Hercules dog made me think that Hercules had a sharpae or a chow. If anyone doesn't know they have a purple tongue.
Some how I just don't see how rotten fish organs could be appetizing let alone the juice in it. Now we get some of our fish foods from them, like sardines and Tuna. I don't like fish so I really wouldn't care for it. I' glad it vanished. I would think that garum could make people sick, but the chapter didn't say anything about that. ( i could have missed it)
Saturday, October 25, 2008
chapter 3
Whats next in this crazy world of salt? I couldn't imagine that the Celts were the salt people. I didn't think it could get this much more involved with salt. I was surprised to learn about these people because i knew little about him before hand. These barbaric people are connected to the Egyptians and the Chinese in a salty way.
I thought it was interesting the Celts came up with the idea of cured ham. It's pretty exciting that many cultures then and now eat ham. I see how they were barbaric to fight over ham.........I'd wish they could have been documented in someway. Other cultures could have changed the idea of the Celts. They could have been different kind of people from the inside.
The Celts are like the Egyptians in that they knew salt is a persever. The Celts did do some preserving of their people. It was fascinating that the colors stored in salt stayed vibrant. The Celts have more relations to the Egyptians then would have ever put together. They both figured that it wasn't profitable to trade and transport salted food. The Celts really weren't barbaric in the sense of innovation. They were productive productive people. They started agriculture, horsemanship, and cremated their dead. I always thought of horsemanship was a Native American discovery. This is very interesting the so called "barbaric people" were so intelligent.
I thought it was interesting the Celts came up with the idea of cured ham. It's pretty exciting that many cultures then and now eat ham. I see how they were barbaric to fight over ham.........I'd wish they could have been documented in someway. Other cultures could have changed the idea of the Celts. They could have been different kind of people from the inside.
The Celts are like the Egyptians in that they knew salt is a persever. The Celts did do some preserving of their people. It was fascinating that the colors stored in salt stayed vibrant. The Celts have more relations to the Egyptians then would have ever put together. They both figured that it wasn't profitable to trade and transport salted food. The Celts really weren't barbaric in the sense of innovation. They were productive productive people. They started agriculture, horsemanship, and cremated their dead. I always thought of horsemanship was a Native American discovery. This is very interesting the so called "barbaric people" were so intelligent.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
chapter 2
Is it a bird , is it a plane? NO even better it's salt! reading through this chapter shows salts effect on civilization. Salt has rocked the Egyptians world ( it's what came to mind ok). Well it did basically. They used to salt fish, birds, and other fine foods for the rich folks of Egypt. Salt was also used with other salt mixtures to preserve mummies in the tomb. The richer you were the better salt treatment you got. Egyptians exported a great amount of salted foods! Eat UP!
While I was reading chapter 2 , i thought how do they tote that salt around. Well my question was answered. Egyptians along with other societies used oxen, horse drawn chariots , and later the domestic Camel.... Salt was so important to people back then that they trade a set amount of salt for gold. Salt even help the Egyptians make other foods from gross olive trees to a yummy food. This book so far shows salt as a universal substance. This helped Egypt with exporting olive oil also. What can't salt do?
Salt seemed to be used as a communication device. It connected cultures as they trade salt for gold. Now it would take a bulk amount of salt . No words were spoken on either side. It may have taken several day , but everyone seemed to speak the language of salt.
While I was reading chapter 2 , i thought how do they tote that salt around. Well my question was answered. Egyptians along with other societies used oxen, horse drawn chariots , and later the domestic Camel.... Salt was so important to people back then that they trade a set amount of salt for gold. Salt even help the Egyptians make other foods from gross olive trees to a yummy food. This book so far shows salt as a universal substance. This helped Egypt with exporting olive oil also. What can't salt do?
Salt seemed to be used as a communication device. It connected cultures as they trade salt for gold. Now it would take a bulk amount of salt . No words were spoken on either side. It may have taken several day , but everyone seemed to speak the language of salt.
Salt chaperter 1
When I read salt on the cover I thought NaCl. (I have chemistry drilled in to my head). I thought why would salt go along with world history? I didn't realize that salt played such a major role in china's history. I thought of China just having a large population. I realize now that they are capable of being more than that.
I found that Chinese were pretty intelligent people. They stumbled on to natural gas and when they realized in wasn't from the underworld they put it to use. We've been learning about the powerful Romans and the golden age of Athens. The Chinese on the other had expanded much farther than the Romans and they were also at an economic, trade, and prosperity high point.
The first monopoly was over salt. Iron was also apart of the big monopoly. It ended and 600 years later returned. Well, talk about a resurrecting the economy. Half the revenue from the Chinese state was from salt. They seemed to rely on salt. The good thing is, at least , well so far, they haven't run out.
I found that Chinese were pretty intelligent people. They stumbled on to natural gas and when they realized in wasn't from the underworld they put it to use. We've been learning about the powerful Romans and the golden age of Athens. The Chinese on the other had expanded much farther than the Romans and they were also at an economic, trade, and prosperity high point.
The first monopoly was over salt. Iron was also apart of the big monopoly. It ended and 600 years later returned. Well, talk about a resurrecting the economy. Half the revenue from the Chinese state was from salt. They seemed to rely on salt. The good thing is, at least , well so far, they haven't run out.
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