Tea
In Balti culture, having tea with someone symbolizes trust and respect,
and the act of sharing tea is how the Balti people become familiar with
strangers. The brief breaks the Balti regularly take for tea also function as a
venue for the Balti to set aside all other concerns and focus on their
relationships with each other. Haji Ali makes the meaning of having tea clear
when he tells Mortenson, “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.” Haji explains to Mortenson that he
must make time to share three cups of tea, by which he means Mortenson needs to
build relationships with the Balti people if he wants to accomplish his goals in
the region.
Mountains and Stones
The Baltistan region of Pakistan, and most of the other areas that
Mortenson works in, are mountainous and rocky. For Mortenson and the American
climbing community, the huge mountains of the Karakoram represent adventures to
be had and challenges to be overcome. But after spending time among the people
who actually live in the region, Mortenson realizes that they view the mountains
entirely differently. They have no need or desire to scale the mountains, and
the rocky environment creates many difficulties, such as making farming
difficult and keeping food scarce. Even so, the Balti have found a way to live
in that difficult environment, and consequently the rocky terrain holds a
different symbolic meaning for them, serving as a symbol of their endless
strength, endurance, and resourcefulness. Mortenson and the Baltis even use the
stones to build their schools (emphasized by the title of Chapter 23, “Stones
into Schools”), reiterating the theme of hardship turned into opportunity.
Food
Throughout the book, the serving of food acts as a token of hospitality,
and accepting food accordingly represents gratitude for that hospitality.
Mortenson, for instance, struggles to show his thanks for the Korphe villagers’
kindness by drinking the popular rancid butter tea and eating ibex jerky. Though
he does not like the food, Mortenson recognizes that eating it is a symbolic act
demonstrating his appreciation. For the Balti people in particular, offering
food is their greatest symbol of hospitality, as when Sakina serves Mortenson
sugared tea, showing the villagers’ concern for Mortenson by sharing a precious
commodity. The chiefs of other villages attempt to gain favor with Mortenson by
serving him lavish feasts. When Mortenson’s friends in Korphe find out he is
married, they serve him an egg, a valuable treat for them, and later, after
learning about 9/11, the women of Kuardu give Mortenson eggs for the widows of
New York.
