Working in the garden
Part 2 continued…………..
It was great to see people working the farm and using vegetables they had grown to cook with. I thought the Amish would be fully self sustainable, but apparently they shop at all the normal shops and eat what everyone else eats.
They do however, have lovely recipes and had many of their books for sale at their shop. There was a stable that housed a variety of farm animals like a horse, duck, cow, mule, pig and a goat.
Working windmill
Most Amish people ride in horse drawn buggies. We saw these all over the place and once again were fascinated with the two cultures converging, but co-existing peacefully in their day to day lives. The little village we were in displayed a few buggies, especially for the tourists and their “playful” children!
Horsing around!
Horse drawn buggy
We all loved the little school house there. This particular one was just for tourists, but most are the same with classrooms ranging from about 25 to 30 students, all of various ages. Very olden day looking desks. Whilst there is no use of technology in the classroom (how would our children cope!?), apparently the Amish people are very well versed in the different cultures of the world. Students who choose to leave their religion and go onto further study have often become doctors, lawyers, teachers etc.
Kaitlin outside the Amish School building
Inside the Amish School house
The question was asked during the tour whether many young people leave the Amish community. Apparently they are given a chance to go out and experience life on the “outside”. They can then choose to stay in the Amish community or leave. If they leave, they are always welcome home to visit, but they may not come back in to the religion. So as you can imagine, we had a wonderful day visiting the Amish village, then going for a drive to see them in the town. Can’t wait to see what the rest of the US has in store as far as religious and cultural beliefs.
The Amish countryside
Amish culture co-existing with the modern technology
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