ENGLISH – Intermediate - Advanced

A visit to parts of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is like a trip back in time. People live in simple farm houses. Family members including small children, all work in the fields. Crops are planted and harvested without modern farm technology.

Most Amish people are easy to recognize. The women make their own long, dark-colored dresses. They cover their hair with cloth hats, called prayer hats. They do not wear jewelry. The men grow long beards when they marry. They wear black clothing and dark hats.

About sixteen thousand to eighteen thousand Old Order Amish live in Lancaster County. This area is also known as Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

The Amish live much like their ancestors did. Modern things like electricity, central heating and indoor water pipes are not considered necessary.

The Amish do not drive cars. Instead, they travel in buggies pulled by horses.

A group of Old Order Amish recently won a legal battle against the state over safety markings on these wooden vehicles. Pennsylvania requires buggies to carry a red warning sign that can be easily seen in car lights. But the Old Order Amish do not have to observe that law.

The group is called the Swartsentrubers. They hang a light from the driver’s side door of their buggies.

The Amish heat their houses with wood stoves. And they get their water from wells. Many Amish people do not use the telephone. They do not want to be connected to the outside world. But some earn money by cooking lunch or dinner for visitors. Visitors can join a family for a meal that includes meat, potatoes and vegetables grown on their farms.

True or False (Circle your answer)

T F Amish people were invited to come to

Pennsylvania where they could enjoy

religious freedom.

T F It is acceptable to take photographs of

Amish people.

T F Amish people are easy to recognize

because of their way of dressing.

T F Women are not allowed to wear make-up

or jewelry.

T F Men grow their beard when they marry.

T F As Amish people have no pipes in their

homes, they can’t have toilets.

T F Amish people are found in twenty-eight

states.

T F Amish people are mainly farmers and

carpenters.

T F Amish people have a limit range of last

names.

T F Amish people build churches for services.

T F Amish pay taxes like every American.

T F Amish are very good at training horses.

T F Rumspringa is the term used about the

time young Amish “run around”.

T F Amish go to school for seven years.

If the guests have any room left in their stomach after all that, they can have a sweet, rich dessert.

The Amish and other groups in Lancaster County, including Mennonites, are known as the Plain People. Many came to the United States from Germany and Switzerland in the seventeen hundreds and eighteen hundreds. They were expelled or chose to leave because of religious oppression. Most of them settled in Pennsylvania, where they were promised religious freedom. Lancaster County is inhabited by officially 50,000 Amish people. Other settlements are found in twenty-two American states and in Ontario, Canada.

The 500 or so Amish who came to the New World in the 1700s had about 40 last names. The 100,000 Amish who live in the United States today are the descendants of those people –and have the same 40 last names. To avoid confusion, the Amish give nicknames to people who have the same name. Some nicknames have an obvious explanation: “Chicken Dan” sells chickens. “Curly Dan” has curly hair.

Some people have expressed concern about the growing number of businesses in Pennsylvania Dutch County. The people worry that this will interfere with the Amish way of life. Sometimes, visitors stop near an Amish family and take their picture –an act that angers the Amish.

As you tour Amish country, you will see small, well-kept farms of about twenty hectares. The Amish are known for their success at farming. Amish farmers produce as much corn, peanuts, tobacco and other crops on each hectare as other farmers. But they always have been more concerned with protecting the land than with producing huge crops. The Amish also raise farm animals such as cows, pigs, horses and chickens. Each family takes care of its own farm. Amish people are known for their talents with raising and training horses.

But the community works together to do big jobs. People also gather for religious services. The services are in German. At home, the Amish speak a form of German called Pennsylvanian Dutch.

The Amish believe that hard work is important and enjoyable. They do not believe in depending on the world outside their community. Almost every Amish man can build a house, make furniture, and raise crops and animals. Almost every Amish woman can preserve food, make clothing and covers for beds called quilts. Quilt makers all over the world recognize the beauty and complexity of Amish quilts.

Young women make the dresses they wear for their marriage ceremonies. These dresses are blue, instead of the white that is traditional for many other Americans. After their weddings, the women wear these dresses to church. And when they die, tradition calls for them to be buried in their wedding dresses.

Most Amish families have seven or eight children. Traditionally the children do not leave home until they marry.

The Amish live by rules they believe are explained in the Bible, the Christian holy book. For example, they believe that Christians must always treat other people with love and gentleness. They believe it is wrong to fight wars. They do not become soldiers or police officers.

These religious beliefs sometimes have brought the Amish into conflict with American law. Amish men refuse military service during war time. They will not even wear coats with buttons, because military uniforms often have large gold or silver buttons. Instead, they are permitted to perform some other kind of public service.

Many Amish refuse to send their children to public schools. Instead, they have their own community schools. Amish kids only go to school for 8 years. They don’t need further education. The Amish pay taxes, but they do not really vote in elections. They refuse help from the federal government.

When boys and girls reach the age of 16, they have two years of rumspringa. During this period of time they can live the “English” life; wear make-up and jewelry, go to parties and have a job with American people. They have to decide for themselves whether they want to stay Amish and return to the old fashioned way of living or stay American! A very difficult choice, which often leaves confused and depressed young people on their own.

The Amish permit few differences among their own people. They are different from most other Americans, and happy to be that way.

Free Writing Task

Another Way of Living

How does your life differ from the life of an Amish person?

• Write about differences and similarities in the way you live your life and the way an Amish person lives his or her life

• You must write between 350 and 400 words