The Amish Folk

In English class, we always discuss our intelligence, but do not always realize how lucky we are to have the opportunities to use this and apply it to our world of seemingly limitless possibilities. As I read Carley Mader's blog about her Amish cleaning lady, I thought of Ann, the Amish lady who "babysits" me and Jackie every time my parents go out of town to visit my older siblings. Two weekends ago, when my parents went to Miami to visit my sister without even telling me (or I just wasn't paying attention when they did tell me). I was surprised to be greeted by Ann, wearing her smock and bonnet sitting in the kitchen preparing chicken for dinner. First of all, she wears a bonnet. In the year 2010. It just astounds me how committed these people are to their strong tradition of customs and way of life, when she is well aware of the customs and traditions of our society. I went on asking her how school was for her as she grew up, and learned that she finished her schooling in the eighth grade by passing a test on the geography of all the 88 counties in Ohio. After that, she says, is either on to cleaning houses or trying to find a husband at age 15. At this point, we were watching the Cav's game. She expressed her strong desire to go to a game, and I told her she could borrow some of my clothes and come with me sometime. She then replied, "I cant go. It is forbidden by the Amish religion". The limited oppurtunities the amish have saddens me. They have nothing to strive for, because many of their futures are already decided for them by their elders, or, they have to clean houses for the rest of their lives. Although Ann always has a smile on her face and she seems to enjoy her life, I realize her high intelligence when she stays with me for the weekend and wonder what she could have been, or what she could have done differently in the world if she lived in the traditional American society.