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Amish in the city
Feb. 20th, 2007 10:18 amToday on the 16th Street Mall-ride in Denver (a free bio-gas bus that goes through the down-town area) I saw Amish people for the first time during my 2 years in the US.
Frankly, I got so excited I just lost it for a few moments and stared, and STARED. Curious and desperately trying to be half-arsed polite at the same time...you know, by pretending to move my head in order to check out a street-number or some such, letting my eyes glide casually over their coats and hats and plain skirts.
They were young people, early twenties - college undergrad age by US stereotype standards, two men, two women and their 3 little kids. One young man had stunning red hair and a red beard and had the kind of face and posture that made him look oddly and timelessly hip in spite of the mandatory hat and too short black pants - in a different life he would have no problem talking up girls in clubs of coffee shops. The other young man was brown haired and a tad bit chubbier, but had a cheerful glee in his smile that made me think he'd have a fairly smooth ride in the "real" world as well.
When my analysis came to the looks of the women I simply slapped myself in the face by realizing how much we, in the modern western society, in our outlook on women, still rely on small little fashion statements, trinkets, make-up details or hip and breast innuendos in our evaluation. The girls were plain - in my initial biased opinion plainer than the men. But if there would be such a thing as an un-biased eye on this planet - tainted by neither patriarchal tendencies nor normal cultural fashionista reflexes - these women's looks were certainly on the same level as that of their men. they had clean round faces without a hint of makeup, and their dark head-scarves made their pale faces a tad bit crumpet-like. But one had a heart-shaped pretty red mouth, and the other full lips and dimples. The only thing standing out slightly in their outfits was the clear blue skirt of one of the women.
The Red haired guy who seemed to have a leader-like disposition was holding a small child on his arm (6-9 months I would guess) - all the children looked extra endearing to me by the effect of their serious black miniature-adult clothes. When a seat behind me became unoccupied I asked them if anyone wanted to sit (since three of them were holding kids) and the red haired guy motioned to his wife (the girl with the heart shaped mouth) to grab it, since she was holding the oldest child in the group - a sleeping two year old. She smiled at me and I wanted to ask her a thousand questions, one dumber than the other and while my head was spinning with moronic queries a guy came on the bus - one of those arm-swinging, public-whistling people who talk out loud, if not to themselves, then to anyone who's energetic enough to respond in some fashion. And so he started to ask all the things I'd been too chicken to blurt out, doing it in such a loud way that the whole bus could enjoy the exchange:
- WOW, you are AMISH, aren't you? (yes, said the cheerful chubby young man)
- Thassoo cool, so you guys are from Utah, or Ohio, or Pennsylvania or something, right? (Pennsylvania, answered the red-haired young man)
- Have you been to McDonald's ever? (well..not here, but I've been there once, back home, replied the chubby guy with a disarming smile).
- So, you guys have your own little cities or communities with HORSES, right? (..something like that, said the red haired guy politely)
- Yeah..I've seen films about Amish..like that one with that actor...umm..uh...the one where...um, what's it called...(WITNESS with Harrison Ford you moron, I though)
- KINGPIN! you know with Bill Murray..they teach an Amish guy to bowl. Have you seen it, maybe on tv? Do you watch tv? (No, sorry, all of them shake their heads, smiling)
- Wow, that's AWESOME! Gotta get off now, bye!
After he left there was a brief pause before the two Amish couples started laughing and talking with each other in an animated Dutch-like language. I bet they were discussing if he always wore pants that showed half his ass and his briefs, and if he ate Big Macs for breakfast.
Anyway, I'm happy, because I've seen AMISH PEOPLE and someone else could make a fool of himself instead of me!
Frankly, I got so excited I just lost it for a few moments and stared, and STARED. Curious and desperately trying to be half-arsed polite at the same time...you know, by pretending to move my head in order to check out a street-number or some such, letting my eyes glide casually over their coats and hats and plain skirts.
They were young people, early twenties - college undergrad age by US stereotype standards, two men, two women and their 3 little kids. One young man had stunning red hair and a red beard and had the kind of face and posture that made him look oddly and timelessly hip in spite of the mandatory hat and too short black pants - in a different life he would have no problem talking up girls in clubs of coffee shops. The other young man was brown haired and a tad bit chubbier, but had a cheerful glee in his smile that made me think he'd have a fairly smooth ride in the "real" world as well.
When my analysis came to the looks of the women I simply slapped myself in the face by realizing how much we, in the modern western society, in our outlook on women, still rely on small little fashion statements, trinkets, make-up details or hip and breast innuendos in our evaluation. The girls were plain - in my initial biased opinion plainer than the men. But if there would be such a thing as an un-biased eye on this planet - tainted by neither patriarchal tendencies nor normal cultural fashionista reflexes - these women's looks were certainly on the same level as that of their men. they had clean round faces without a hint of makeup, and their dark head-scarves made their pale faces a tad bit crumpet-like. But one had a heart-shaped pretty red mouth, and the other full lips and dimples. The only thing standing out slightly in their outfits was the clear blue skirt of one of the women.
The Red haired guy who seemed to have a leader-like disposition was holding a small child on his arm (6-9 months I would guess) - all the children looked extra endearing to me by the effect of their serious black miniature-adult clothes. When a seat behind me became unoccupied I asked them if anyone wanted to sit (since three of them were holding kids) and the red haired guy motioned to his wife (the girl with the heart shaped mouth) to grab it, since she was holding the oldest child in the group - a sleeping two year old. She smiled at me and I wanted to ask her a thousand questions, one dumber than the other and while my head was spinning with moronic queries a guy came on the bus - one of those arm-swinging, public-whistling people who talk out loud, if not to themselves, then to anyone who's energetic enough to respond in some fashion. And so he started to ask all the things I'd been too chicken to blurt out, doing it in such a loud way that the whole bus could enjoy the exchange:
- WOW, you are AMISH, aren't you? (yes, said the cheerful chubby young man)
- Thassoo cool, so you guys are from Utah, or Ohio, or Pennsylvania or something, right? (Pennsylvania, answered the red-haired young man)
- Have you been to McDonald's ever? (well..not here, but I've been there once, back home, replied the chubby guy with a disarming smile).
- So, you guys have your own little cities or communities with HORSES, right? (..something like that, said the red haired guy politely)
- Yeah..I've seen films about Amish..like that one with that actor...umm..uh...the one where...um, what's it called...(WITNESS with Harrison Ford you moron, I though)
- KINGPIN! you know with Bill Murray..they teach an Amish guy to bowl. Have you seen it, maybe on tv? Do you watch tv? (No, sorry, all of them shake their heads, smiling)
- Wow, that's AWESOME! Gotta get off now, bye!
After he left there was a brief pause before the two Amish couples started laughing and talking with each other in an animated Dutch-like language. I bet they were discussing if he always wore pants that showed half his ass and his briefs, and if he ate Big Macs for breakfast.
Anyway, I'm happy, because I've seen AMISH PEOPLE and someone else could make a fool of himself instead of me!
