Archive for November, 2008

First glance at Amish - 2After being explicitly explained to what the outhouse was all about, a red light in my head started to blink a little. I decided to hold it until I reached a nearby town where there was a normal restroom.The older Amish gentleman spoke with a slightly accent which I couldn’t place it at first. English is not the native tongue of Amish and neither is mine. Apparently, he and I had something in common when came to English. German is Amish first language; they learn it at home and use it to communicate among themselves. At school, first graders often face the challenge of learning a new language - English - along with their first lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic. The teacher used the German dialect only as a last resort if a pupil cannot understand English. It takes special effort to teach English word meanings, comprehension, and pronunciation skills.We were told that he had built the house from his own wood, sending them to and from a sawmill. The final products were perfect size for his house. What amazed me the most was that the whole house didn’t have a single nail but wood pegs to hold every piece of wood together. This type of house is as strong and sturdy as the one that used the nails.When we called to inquire some information about this property, we were told this Amish family wanted to sell all 166 acres before moving close to his son. Obviously, it was some place else.  I couldn’t see myself living far away from civilization in the wood where the nearest neighbor was around 2 miles away. My husband probably agreed that the property was too big for two of us to handle. It was a nice trip, though. At least I could see another side of America.Still I’m fascinated with a simple life style of the Amish. To me the Amish is a living history not in the sense of backward living.  It’s amazing to learn that some people in America can still live without electricity, running water, telephone, car, or internet.  The world around them keeps moving and changing while they stay still and seem to be happy with the way they live. Even though some of them jump the fence - leaving the Amish life style behind- , plenty of Amish communities can be seen and observed. 

Digging into my memory bank, I remember the very first time I learnt or perhaps laid eyes on Amish people was when my husband and I started to look for a property. To be correct, I was the one being watched by an Amish girl.

We found a farm for sale on a newspaper and called to get a direction. The farm was located in the south of Columbus, taking almost 3 hours to get there. I remember we stopped at a small restaurant somewhere not far from Athens - a college town where students have a reputation of partying too much - and incidentally my advent drew an attention from people there. Every head turned and every pair of eyes stared at me as though I were an alien. They might have wondered which planet I came from, I jokingly thought to myself. Their gazing didn’t intimidate me, though. Looking straight into their eyes with a big smile on my face as usual, I said, “Hi, how’s it going?” and paid no attention to them. I was so starving that I could eat a horse. A waitress came to our table and next thing I knew I heard someone sitting next to us ask, “Where are you folks from?” “We’re from Columbus”, one of us replied. And a friendly conversation flew in from every direction. These people were very nice even though they seemed to be a little bit too inquisitive at first. They gave us a clear direction how to reach the property we came to see. Bless their hearts.

We arrived at the property around 2 in the afternoon. In front of us were a two-story wooded house and a gigantic beat-up barn on the right hand side. The smell of cow manure hit me as soon as I opened the car door. It was so strong that I coughed. Then we were greeted by an old gentleman, wearing denim trousers with suspenders, a broadcloth long-sleeve shirt and a straw hat. His long beard and a bowl cut hair-style made him look so different than anybody I had ever seen in my entire being. *** Confession - I couldn’t take my eyes off him. I did exactly the same as those people from the restaurant; that is, to stare at him.*** As plain as he looked, there was something mysterious about him. I stared at him for a full minute. Realizing it was rude to do so, I looked away. There was a slightly energy transported directly to me and I could feel it. I sensed that I was being watched; therefore, I turned to that direction immediately. Sitting on a corner of a large and open living room was a young Amish lady - couldn’t tell exactly how old she was. She gazed at me with curiosity and our eyes met for a quick moment before she pretended to carry on with her sewing. She had blond hair tugging under her white cape; her light blue eyes looked innocent but stunning. She blushed as she knew she got caught. A masterpiece, the real and natural beauty I had ever seen in a woman, imprinted in my memory. We finally exchanged our smiles before I followed my husband and the old Amish gentleman to a basement area where that Amish family normally bathed. The house didn’t have an indoor plumbing.

“I have to go potty.” My husband responded, “They don’t have a bathroom but outhouse.

“What on earth is outhouse?”, asked I.

—To be continued -:)

A compound adjective is made up of two parts and sometimes it’s written with a hyphen such as good-natured, or one word, e.g. nearsighted. Its meaning is usually clear from the words combined; the second part of the compound adjectives is often a present or past participle. I’m not certain if there is a specific rule for a learner to memorize or a hint to go by. The best way might be to consult with a dictionary.

A large number of compound adjectives describe personal appearance. Here is a somewhat far-fetched description of a person starting from the head to toe.

My brother is a curly-haired, suntanned, brown-eyed, rosy-cheeked, thin-lipped, broad-shouldered, right-handed, slim-hipped, long-legged, flatfooted young man, wearing brand-new tight-fitting jeans and opened-toed sandals.

Here is a lighthearted description of someone.

Sandy is absent-minded (forgetful) , easygoing (relaxed), good-natured (cheerful), warmhearted (kind) , and quick-witted (intelligent) perhaps a little pigheaded (stubborn), two-faced (hypocritical),self-centered (egotistical), quick-tempered (easily angered) , and stuck-up (conceited) at times.

Can you give yourself a description using compound adjectives?