I am once again in a position that my 12-year-old self would be very, very proud of: I have traveled so much and been to so many places that I can hardly begin a blog post without an avalanche of stories pummeling my time-restricted self.
Second to the actual experiences, swimming in recent memories is one of my favorite states of being, despite the fact that it stands in the way of the perfect fusion of Ira Glass and Paul Theroux that characterizes my blog in my head.
Yet after six countries, hundreds of stories across two months and many rural European villages, I find that before I can continue, I must finish a story which I have already begun, that of spending time in the German-speaking yet uniquely American culture of the Amish.
To rewind a bit: Because I needed to attend my sister's college graduation, I decided to have the most cultural experience I could achieve in Ohio beyond eating a dozen White Castle sliders...Amish Country.
The Amish are fun to have around. You may not expect such a statement, given their strict religious opposition to alcohol and their belief that dancing is the work of the Devil. Yet, with their Little House on the Prairie outfits, super-cute buggies, and Martin Van Buren mutton-chops, they make any place feel like you've traveled back in time.
The Amish countryside reminded me of Europe, especially France and Romania, and for a while I couldn't put my finger on why. It was some of the most beautiful I've seen in America and I realized after a few days that what was unusual was the prolific presence of old-world pasture grazing and subsistence farms, which give the rolling hills soft contrast and depth rather than destroying the landscape with industrial farming.
Over the years I've done quite a bit of research on the Amish, including finding a set of BBC semi-reality shows called "meet the amish" that follow Amish teenagers on their Rumspringe - the period of their lives when they are sent to the evil outside world to decide if they want to live in sin or come back and have babies on a farm without electricity. Most choose to come back, which makes them a much more interesting group of people to me. People who choose to live differently are people who I want to know.
I went to this research effort because the Amish often come up under the "weird american religions" discussion that periodically occurs in my life late at night while drinking local spirits and chatting with friends in foreign countries. Fascinatingly, Europeans often confuse the Amish with Mormons. In these comparison conversations, often the Amish come out with the more seemingly logical doctrine than the Mormons, but that is a topic that will certainly distract from the matter at hand...
Where I stayed, Holmes County Ohio, is actually governed with Amish-culture based laws, including the continued prohibition of alcohol. How could the Amish have so much influence? How many Amish could there possibly be? Get ready for this one - there are over 165,000 practicing old-order Amish in the US. Bringing back in the Mormon comparison, that's about the same population as Salt Lake City (189k in the 2012 census).
In Holmes county at about 7pm, most restaurants have parking lots full of buggies and most houses have kerosine lamps flickering in the windows. Wooden phone booths stick up by the side of the road even on very rural paths because some Amish are allowed to use the phone...just not inside the house. Moderating the rules of what is and isn't acceptable from modern life are a group of elders, who also interpret the old german language bibles that they use as their doctrine. Recently, young Amish have begun reading the King James bible, and you know what happened the last time that people started reading the bible for themselves instead of having it interpreted from an archaic language by church-elders...uh oh, reformation may be coming...
The hosts at my quaint B&B in "Amish Door, Ohio" were Mennonites, a group somewhat related to Amish that doesn't have the same level of technology and dress restrictions but still adheres to strict and similar fundamentalist religious concepts. They also tend to act more evangelical. While they were very cordial and surprised that San Franciscans would visit them, they kept saying, "we'll pray for you" and "God bless you." I couldn't help but feel a strong subtext in their polite religious offerings, as if they were saying, "and boy do YOU need it."
It's quite a fascinating concept to my agnostic self that any religion in the 21st century can continue to advocate a point of view that there is specifically one correct interpretation of how the universe works and that their specific interpretation is the right one. I did find, however, that the Amish with whom I interacted, unlike the evangelical Mennonite christians I stayed with, seemed far more content to go about their lives with their interpretation without needing to convert outsiders. It was refreshing. And after several days of prayer on my behalf, came a victory for the Amish rather than the evangelicals - a couple of San Franciscans came to appreciate that their logic - the value and pride of work, spending time with their families, living what they were preaching instead of beating it over the heads of infidels - seemed far more christian than anything I've seen on conservative television, pretty much...ever.
It is not a life that I would choose, but like so many other places I've traveled, I like that others choose it, because like their subsistence farmed fields, they add depth and color to an otherwise increasingly standardized world, and I for one, am glad to live in a country where they are free to do so... as long as they don't start legislating that I join them ;).
Note: The Amish do not believe in having their photos taken because it is immodest. After a long internal debate about whether to use photos at all, I have chosen for the sake of the story to use photos in which their faces are not clear.
Second to the actual experiences, swimming in recent memories is one of my favorite states of being, despite the fact that it stands in the way of the perfect fusion of Ira Glass and Paul Theroux that characterizes my blog in my head.
Yet after six countries, hundreds of stories across two months and many rural European villages, I find that before I can continue, I must finish a story which I have already begun, that of spending time in the German-speaking yet uniquely American culture of the Amish.
Photo taken on an average road in Holmes County, Ohio
To rewind a bit: Because I needed to attend my sister's college graduation, I decided to have the most cultural experience I could achieve in Ohio beyond eating a dozen White Castle sliders...Amish Country.
The Amish are fun to have around. You may not expect such a statement, given their strict religious opposition to alcohol and their belief that dancing is the work of the Devil. Yet, with their Little House on the Prairie outfits, super-cute buggies, and Martin Van Buren mutton-chops, they make any place feel like you've traveled back in time.
Martin Van Buren, the 8th president of the US of A
Amish man driving a buggy in Holmes County
The Amish countryside reminded me of Europe, especially France and Romania, and for a while I couldn't put my finger on why. It was some of the most beautiful I've seen in America and I realized after a few days that what was unusual was the prolific presence of old-world pasture grazing and subsistence farms, which give the rolling hills soft contrast and depth rather than destroying the landscape with industrial farming.
Very old-world Amish farming
The delicate countryside produced without industrial farming
Over the years I've done quite a bit of research on the Amish, including finding a set of BBC semi-reality shows called "meet the amish" that follow Amish teenagers on their Rumspringe - the period of their lives when they are sent to the evil outside world to decide if they want to live in sin or come back and have babies on a farm without electricity. Most choose to come back, which makes them a much more interesting group of people to me. People who choose to live differently are people who I want to know.
I went to this research effort because the Amish often come up under the "weird american religions" discussion that periodically occurs in my life late at night while drinking local spirits and chatting with friends in foreign countries. Fascinatingly, Europeans often confuse the Amish with Mormons. In these comparison conversations, often the Amish come out with the more seemingly logical doctrine than the Mormons, but that is a topic that will certainly distract from the matter at hand...
Where I stayed, Holmes County Ohio, is actually governed with Amish-culture based laws, including the continued prohibition of alcohol. How could the Amish have so much influence? How many Amish could there possibly be? Get ready for this one - there are over 165,000 practicing old-order Amish in the US. Bringing back in the Mormon comparison, that's about the same population as Salt Lake City (189k in the 2012 census).
A buggy plods along the busy road behind a Semi-truck - a very common scene
Buggy crossing
The hosts at my quaint B&B in "Amish Door, Ohio" were Mennonites, a group somewhat related to Amish that doesn't have the same level of technology and dress restrictions but still adheres to strict and similar fundamentalist religious concepts. They also tend to act more evangelical. While they were very cordial and surprised that San Franciscans would visit them, they kept saying, "we'll pray for you" and "God bless you." I couldn't help but feel a strong subtext in their polite religious offerings, as if they were saying, "and boy do YOU need it."
It's quite a fascinating concept to my agnostic self that any religion in the 21st century can continue to advocate a point of view that there is specifically one correct interpretation of how the universe works and that their specific interpretation is the right one. I did find, however, that the Amish with whom I interacted, unlike the evangelical Mennonite christians I stayed with, seemed far more content to go about their lives with their interpretation without needing to convert outsiders. It was refreshing. And after several days of prayer on my behalf, came a victory for the Amish rather than the evangelicals - a couple of San Franciscans came to appreciate that their logic - the value and pride of work, spending time with their families, living what they were preaching instead of beating it over the heads of infidels - seemed far more christian than anything I've seen on conservative television, pretty much...ever.
It is not a life that I would choose, but like so many other places I've traveled, I like that others choose it, because like their subsistence farmed fields, they add depth and color to an otherwise increasingly standardized world, and I for one, am glad to live in a country where they are free to do so... as long as they don't start legislating that I join them ;).
An Amish farm, not in good condition.
Normally, the Amish community will help those in need. It's possible that this family is one of the many who has left the Amish for the proselytizing evangelical communities in the area, who offer much less social and financial support.
The proselytizing controversy has caused extensive strife in Amish areas.
Amish women work in the fields and manage the household. Despite the religious view on gender roles, everyone in the family does hard manual work. Many Amish women say that they feel equally valued in society, although they are quick to point out that the man is still the final decision maker, "As the Bible says."
Note: The Amish do not believe in having their photos taken because it is immodest. After a long internal debate about whether to use photos at all, I have chosen for the sake of the story to use photos in which their faces are not clear.
