A Trip to Another World

This really isn't a 'story' story. I would classify it as an informative article. Have fun reading :-)

The Amish community is one that most people know about, but few people actually know about.  Most of the “knowledge” focused on the Amish is made of assumptions, and those assumptions are based on what we have heard or what we think we know.  Someone very close to me recently had the opportunity to put aside modern living for a week, and slip into a world that few people venture into, and even fewer find appealing.  The world of modern history-preservers, the Amish.

My grandfather, David Perry*, is a man of many talents and interests.  One of those interests is towards the Amish community.  “I have always had an interest in Amish people, and a desire to know and understand them better,” he says.  “This was one of my strongest motivations for choosing to go to Nappanee, Indiana to spend a week living among these special people.”

Late last year, David found an organization called Road Scholar (roadscholar.org), which offers thousands of trips to places all over the world.  These options include opportunities to explore and get to know Hawaii, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, as well as the Americas and the Antarcticas.  After doing some research and considering his own personal tastes, he decided to apply for a week spent hiking in Delmarva Peninsula on the Chesapeake Bay.  He ended up enjoying the trip so much that when he was once again looking to travel, he returned to Road Scholar in search of another fascinating trip option.  This was when he discovered the trip to Nappanee, Indiana that provided the travelers an opportunity to spend a week living in and among the Amish people.  Needless to say, he willingly tossed aside his hiking books and pulled out his bike and buggy.  He was ready to dive headfirst into the experience of a lifetime! “Nappanee is in the county of Elkart,” he explains.  “Elkart is the third largest Amish settlement in the world.”

There were eighteen people total that signed up to go to Nappanee.  The group of individuals came from all over the U.S, including Canada, California, Colorado, Kansas, Florida, Maryland, Illinois, and South Carolina.  Each member had signed up for one reason; to get a taste of living in another community so vastly different from their own.

“We stayed at a motel that is located in a restored Amish village, called Amish Acres,” says David.  “It was the first village settled by the Amish in that part of Northern Indiana.”

Perspective is built on knowledge.  Knowledge is often built on assumption.  During his trip to Indiana, David learned that America’s general perspectives and assumptions about the Amish are completely fallacious.

“We were able to get very close and personal with these people.  We got to see them living out nearly every aspect of their daily lives.  We visited them out in their fields, in their barns, in their workshops, in their gardens, and in their schoolhouses.  We even had the opportunity to visit a maple farm, which is known as a maple syrup camp in their community.  Through our time spent in close proximity to this group of people, we learned many things about their lifestyles, personalities, and general attitudes.  We found that they are peaceful, genuine, family-oriented, helpful, humorous, witty, loving, kind, industrious, orderly, committed to their faith, and slow-paced.”

David goes on to explain that the Amish have adopted a form of living that is uncommon in America, in order to keep the traditions of their European ancestors alive.  David found that they are not miserable without all the modern conveniences most of us think we could not live without, but rather they are very happy and content because they have learned to do without these things.  They accept that they are different than their modern American counterparts, and they like it that way.  “They are not threatened by the outside world,” David affirms.

“I wish America would adopt a lifestyle like the Amish, which is a simple one,” says David.  “I love their farms, their bikes and buggies, their large families.  I just love their peaceful, easy-going lifestyle in general.”

According to David, the Amish lead a simple lifestyle which enables a strong sense and portrayal of contentment that the majority of us are not able to experience.  Due to our non-stop busy routines, we often forget the simple things in life.  The things that really matter.  David never really considered how fast-paced our life really is, until he had the opportunity to step into the shoes of an Amish farmer, and experience life through his soles.  “My pre-visit perception of what Amish life is like was vastly different than my post-visit impression,” he explains.  “I expected them to be anti-social, more defensive regarding their faith, more stoic, perhaps less humorous.  I came away with a completely different view of these people, and why they live and worship the way they do.  I now admire and respect them more than I ever thought possible!”

*name changed