Can anyone explain to a naive British boy what Amish is ?
I don't claim to be an expert on the subject but I'll try. The Amish are a very strict religous order that believes in shunning all decadent ways of modern life. They prefer to live the lifestyle of people 150-200 years ago. They are mostly of Dutch/German descent and keep the language of the Old World as well as English. They live in simple dwellings that they build themselves. Sometimes they have no running water other than a well. Outhouses are common. They don't use electricity to power anything. No radios, no TV , no computers.
They try to make as few compromises in their old fashioned way of life as possible in the modern age.
They are mostly farmers although there is still a need for blacksmiths, a tannery and other skilled craftsmen of 19th century life. They do not drive cars or use any tractors. Their horsepower comes from horses and oxen. Here in the States they are most visible to the public when they go down the road in their horse carriages. They dress in the style you would expect of someone from the 1700's-1800's. Mostly black. Suspenders for the men are popular. Most of the men wear beards.
Whenever they deal with the outside world they refer to the the rest of us Yanks as "the English".
They try to protect their children from the modern influences of the world around them. Hence they are very insular and try to avoid contact with outsiders. But they are not hostile towards the "English".
As with all religous orders there are some communities that are very strict and conservative and others that are more liberal. Some can be more Puritanical in their ideology and others that will allow people to use a telephone occasionally or ride in a car. Some will allow more open contact with the outside world. It is always cute to be at an amusement park where people are dressed in shorts, t-shirts, etc and then see a group of people who look like they just stepped off the Mayflower. The women are in black flowing dresses that hang to the ground. They have their hair covered with a very modest white bonnet. The bearded young men are in their long black pants, white dress shirts and suspenders. It's an interesting sight to see the contradiction of the clothing styles alone.
The Amish have a tradition called Rumspringer sp? whereby at the age of 18 they allow the young adult to go out into the English world and live that lifestyle for 6 months to a year. They give their child the option of staying out in the modern world or returning home to continue the life they had led before.
That was the wonderful journey of discovery that Jonah was on when we met up with him. In his community it was forbidden even to masturbate. Though he admitted that he knew that some did.
So he was really clueless about sex in general. He was almost certainly a virgin with women. And any talk of same sex marriage in the Amish community might bring the torch wielding villagers to the door! LOL
So there was Jonah, as naive, pure, sweet and innocent as the new fallen snow. He was so overwhelmed by all the opportunities, choices and decisions of modern life. In supreme understatement he said "There's just so much...of everthing!" Hopefully that gives you some more insight as to why we were all so charmed by him.
