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

Amish Village

Well, we finally made it to Lancaster, the home of many Amercians, including the Amish People. I had heard a bit about the Amish culture, but driving and seeing them for ourselves was well worth the visit.

We started our tour of the Amish countryside with a visit to an Amish village set up for tourists. Amish people still live there and work the land, but allow tourists to buy things from their shop and take short tours inside the house, farm and schoolhouse.

An Amish family going about their business.

The living room doubles as a prayer room.

The Amish are a very religious people and their living rooms are set up as a prayer room as well. Inside the houses, the rooms are only ever painted 3 possible colours….blue (to symbolise the sky), green (to symbolise the grass) or brown (to symbolise the earth). You’ll notice house with no wires going to them. Anything that may need electricity in their homes (like a lamp, an iron or a fridge) are run on propane gas.

A little Amish boy, David, is 4 yrs old.

Our kids were quite fascinated with the clothes the Amish wore. When the boys turn 6 years of age, they dress like their fathers (suspender belts hold up their trousers as no zippers are used.) Girls at the same age dress like their mothers and must wear prayer hats on their heads most of the time. They start wearing bonnets when they are older. When girls get married, their wedding dress can be lavender, violet or green with a white apron style over it. This is the only time they wear the dress besides their funeral. Once women are married, they wear a lot of black. An Amish man who is not married must be clean shaven, but once he has “tied the knot”, grows a beard (but shaves the moustache).

The Amish women spend their day cooking, cleaning, praying and (if time) quilting. Apparently some Amish communities allow more use of technology than others, so I have found a site that explains their cultural and religious beliefs in more depth. Click here to read more.

Leona, a 2 yr old Amish girl.

Something I found fascinating is that the Amish are not allowed to take photos of themselves or their kids. According to their beliefs, pictures are false and not the truth as we live on a day to day basis.

Leona with her Mum and our kids.

We were allowed to take photos with permisssion, but not video footage. Our kids made friends with the Amish children straight away, and little Leona was very keen to hold baby Akaisha as you can see in the photo. Her mother baked and sold cookies to tourists.

End of Part One……………

We can’t have a family blog and not mention a special day in the life of our eldest daughter.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAITLIN. We can’t believe you’re 15 already! (Seems like only yesterday………………)

We had big plans to celebrate by going to Hershey Park (well known for it’s amazing rollercoaster rides among other entertaining activities to do.) But as things turned out, we had to postpone that trip until Monday. Instead Kaitlin spent most of the morning (Australia’s evening) speaking to her very special friend, Georgia, on Skype (now what a great tool that is!)

Kaitlin (15 yrs) and Akaisha (5 months)

After celebrating with cake (at the insistent urging of her youger brothers), Kaitlin then spent the afternoon doing what she loves most…shopping with all of her birthday money (courtesy of her family back in Australia and her family here in America). Pretty cool to think that much of the fashion in the shops hasn’t made it’s way to Australia yet.

The whole gang celebrating

So hopefully this will be a birthday to remember in the USA. One more coming up in August and that will  be Kit (a good 9 years younger, but just as special). Let’s hope his cake is as yummy as Kaitlin’s!

Hi everyone,

Beautiful backdrop to the pool.

We are in, what I call, the “rest and relaxation” mode of our trip around the US. Being at Trev’s sister’s home is like being in a hotel that has everything we could ever need. The views around here are absolutely beautiful and the feeling of serenity and peace can be found in all areas of this magical property (OK….well nearly all…….if I avoid where the seven kids are playing!!!!)

Relaxing outside home

We have narrowed the choice of a motorhome down to two, so hopefully will have made a decision by tomorrow. We have been driving around this little town of Dillsburg and surrounding districts and love the open spaces and regal looking houses, (not a fence in sight). Everyone seems to have long driveways and carefully manicured lawns and gardens. I have now posted some photos but I am still working out how to position them successfully. The kids’ blogs are still being worked on, so hopefully in the next few days they can start adding the memories they would like, from “their” point of view rather than ours.

Peaceful views from pool area

Tomorrow we are going to see Amish community about an hour away from here. The kids are fascinated that in this day and age, that there are still cultures that don’t use technology. Apparently the Amish feel it weakens the family structure. We are looking forward to seeing the horsedrawn carts and the clothes they wear. By then, we should have some photos up, so the blog will begin to look a little more interesting.

View from front of mansion

A smart way to start our trip is to get our bearings whilst staying at Trev’s sister’s house. Sorry, did I say house? Maybe mansion is a better description! A beautiful home on 10 sprawling acres of land. Immaculately kept, but with such a warm and inviting atmosphere. The kids have already given the pool a massive work out and we’ve only been here 4 days. Perfect weather, perfect hosts, perfect planning station for the next part of our trip. Thankyou Lynda, Alan and little Scarlett for opening your home to our big brood. We are indeed a very lucky family.

Living room

This is Trevor’s training ground for learning to drive on the wrong side of the road (if you’re from Australia that is!!) This is my training ground for learning all of the Amercian language that doesn’t quite match ours (like ketchup for tomato sauce).

"The Sea and I" By Lynda

Our motor home (or RV) is being narrowed down to a select few even as I write this. Hopefully we will have one that can fit our family and take us on our exciting trip around the USA within the week. Will keep you posted!

Cathy and Akaisha relaxing

Playing Twister in the USA