Sunday, May 27, 2012

Simply Living!!


Hello old friends and new!! Today's post is a personal update of my life and whereabouts during the last month or so. You might have noticed that my beauty posts have been less frequent than usual and this is simply due to the precedence of my personal happenings that are outside of my blogging world. This month has been dense, but fast-paced: I've hosted friends from Paris, went out-of-state, worked on makeup for several weddings and even blogged a little... :)) I won't go into all the details, but I will show you some snippets from my travels!! Last week, I was away in Pennsylvania, accompanying LeeLee (my beau) on his work-related affairs. Due to the nature of his business, we often spend a lot of time in PA, so whenever we get a moment to escape, we like to explore our surroundings. In the pic above, I'm joyfully taking in the fresh country air aboard an old Amish wagon in Lancaster. Visiting the Amish in Lancaster County, PA was one of my favorite experiences in a long time, and today I'm sharing some of its picturesque beauty.



So, hop on the wagon and come along!




The Amish are a sub-group of the Christian Mennonite Church, originally formed in Switzerland in the late 1600's. In the 18th Century, many Amish and Mennonites emigrated to Pennsylvania, which is now considered the largest Amish community in the world. The Amish are known for simple living, plain clothes and detachment from modern technology and society. The Amish speak Pennsylvania Dutch (a dialect of Swiss German) and their population is about 250,000.
The Amish place high value on humility, composure and community; rejecting pride, vanity, and self-promotion. According to the Amish interpretation of the Biblical Commandments, they are not allowed to have graven images i. e. have their pictures taken and/or displayed. I was told it was OK to take photos from far away as long as their faces aren't shown. It was actually difficult to avoid them, they kept popping up in my viewfinder, so for this post, I'm limiting my photos to the most respectful ones, like the boy and the bicycle, below.
 
Arriving in Lancaster, LeeLee and I were a bit "underwhelmed" at first. The peace, ease, and tranquility of the Amish Village and its residents were too loud of a silence for city dwellers like us. As most tourists, we came in with our own predispositions, judgements and modern attachments (I was tweeting and IG-ing through my buggy ride smh). It was only after meeting Susan, a non-Amish tour-guide at the Amish Farm & House, that we began to understand what this culture was all about. Susan was incredibly knowledgeable and sincerely passionate about the Amish and their traditions. She guided us through the historic home giving us a crash-course in Amish lifestyle and culture. It was one of the best history lessons I've ever had!
Amish home decor and clothing is all about modesty and humility. There are no buttons, adornments, decorations, or jewelry. The girls own two to three dresses with aprons: 1 or 2 for every day and another for church. Since this culture is about collectivity and not individuality, there are no variations in style or clothing, other than the distinction that can be made between married and single persons. For example: a man grows a long beard after he gets married, so it's very easy for the girls to see who is available. Married women, on the other hand, wear a white heart-shaped bonnet to church on Sunday. In fact, a man would have to wait until Sunday to find out if the girl he has his eye on is actually available. I kind of like this practice! In a society that seems so strict, there are absolutely no arranged marriages. In order for a young man to court a girl he likes, he must ask permission from the girl's father and she ultimately has to give the OK for the father to report back to the young man. So, the dad is essentially the daughter's wing-man! Simply genius!!
Speaking of collectivity, the Amish one room school (grades 1-8) holds and teaches all class-levels at the same time. Not only does this practice help build stronger bonds between the students aka future members of the Amish community, but it also encourages interdependency. Take a look at the school desks built in ascending order, the smaller, 1st grader desks are in the front row, while the larger, 8th grader desks are in the back. Miss Lavina (an Amish school teacher) conducts the class while the students help each other learn between the rows. It's pretty awesome, if you ask me! Kinda makes me wanna go back to school...
Here I am, checking out some textbooks (printed by an unofficial Amish-supported publishing house) and LeeLee, modeling the parked scooters outside of the one room school. The cutest thing was seeing the children actually ride these scooters!!
the wagon and my import model pose hehe
I love animals, so I was totally at home on the farm :)) P. S. goats have really funny, horizontal pupils... I never noticed them before!!
After the Amish heritage museum and farm, we headed to Plain and Fancy Restaurant, the original Amish Farm feast served in pass-the-platter style, quite like a Thanksgiving dinner. Although this restaurant isn't Amish owned, it is fully supplied with Amish farm ingredients and I must say, I've never tasted anything fresher. Their fried chicken is so good that the restaurant was featured in Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel. If you're ever in Lancaster, make sure to check out Plain and Fancy Restaurant -- I highly recommend it!! Sorry no pix, I was too busy munching and making friends out of strangers :)))
After the restaurant, LeeLee and I drove around checking out some Amish "real estate"... Driving through the little roads, we came face-to-face with a two-seater buggy holding a young couple. The guy did not have a beard, yet he was grinning from ear to ear. At that moment, LeeLee and I caught eyes and smiled: we knew exactly what was going on in that buggy: she gave the OK!!! 


I sense a ♥-Shaped Bonnet in her future!!




Maryam



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*There are many misconceptions and misunderstandings about the Amish culture and also a whole lot of fascination and curiosity. Most people visit the Amish Country to gawk at the people who "live in the past", neglecting the fact that this is a closed society, often treating the Amish like zoo animals. At the same time, tourism is essential to the Amish, given the fact that they can no longer rely on subsistence farming as a main source of income, nor do they accept government assistance. If you decide to visit the Amish, please be mindful of these existing parallels.




Maryam Maquillage © 2012. www.maryammaquillage.com

44 comments:

  1. Brilliant photo's so interesting :)

    Rose x

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    1. I was interested to read of your recent visit to Lancaster. I would invite you to not only visit Lancaster, but also contribute to the promotion of horse-powered farming that makes such communities possible. Our Kickstarter project features an informational video explaining how you can help. Check it out at:


      https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1254381549/horse-powered-agriculture-project

      Delete
  2. Very nice photos!! I always think it's interesting to hear a little bit about a bloggers private life....not the whole thing, but a little bit makes me always even more curious!! Good job lady. And still sooo pretty without alot of MakeUp!
    Love, Janine

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    1. Thank you Janine, this is such a nice comment :)) oxox

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  3. really unique post, i enjoyed reading and learning about this culture with you! i think it's so fascinating as well how diverse the world is. amazing photos too, thanks for sharing your day with us :)

    x Jordan
    - Boho Vanity -

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    1. Thanks Jordan, I'm glad this was a learning experience for you!! It was for me as well :)) oxox

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  4. what an awesome expirence hun

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  5. I used to go on school trips to amishtown so interesting. Can we talk about what a beautiful couple you and your honey are? :-)

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    1. Awww you're so sweet :)) My honey's gonna like that lol

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  6. OmG sweetie your pictures are really cute i love it your post!
    God bless you...

    Sakuranko Blog
    My Facebook Fan Page

    xoxo

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  7. wow love it a totally different side of you very interesting great pictures!

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  8. How breathtaking. I've lived in Lancaster for about 2 months, i remember not wanting to leave. Although most areas are very conservative, i felt very welcomed.
    It's so clean with fresh air
    great picture hun, great memories to speak of years later ;)

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    1. You diddddd??? Nooo way lol!!! I kinda wanted to be adopted by an Amish family for a year while I was there... it must be so nice to be totally free of modern marvels lol

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  9. Enjoy your travel!! YOU have a great blog! Loving your posts and style! Hope you are having a wonderful day!
    -Jyoti
    PS. Check out my blog when ever you have time!
    Style-Delights Blog

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  10. Woww everything looks amazing <3 Nice pics honey!

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  11. Hey the interview is up!! Check: http://glossandmagic.blogspot.in/2012/05/blogger-inspiration-maryam-of-maryam.html

    :)

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  12. What an incredibly (in every sense of the word) interesting post! I get fascinated by other cultures and worlds unknown so was completley absorbed in this post learning about the Amish through your experience. I know they're not allowed to listen to music either which always blows me away - I love this new little direction your blog is taking though. I love your make up posts, always have, but I do love learning about other peoples lives and experiences through their blogs. Hope you had a lovely weekend.

    Anna xo

    http://www.lifesshinyprettythings.blogspot.com.au/

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    1. Thank you so much Anna!! The Amish are really quite an interesting group, and I must say, most of their principles make total sense. Well, maybe the "no music" is a bit too much, but the humility aspect is beautiful to me. Yup, I thought it was time to share something a bit more personal, and I'm glad you like it :)) oxox

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  13. Amazing photos. Seems like you had a very interesting trip :)

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  14. Very nice pictures Maryam, I love it.... you cute <3 and the little sheep is adorable :)

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  15. Hiii you trips looked fun i live in scranton is more city " but not really but you had fun !

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  16. love this post! what a contrast with city life huh

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  17. Wow great post, Maryan!!! beautiful photos!!!
    Have a good week!!

    Besos, desde España, Marcela♥

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  18. An incredible experience in Amish country ! thanks for sharing these lovely and charming images. And you are sizzling in all the buggy shots.

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  19. it was lovely to check your travel update post... pretty pictures

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  20. that is so cool you got to experience to amish community!

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  21. I like this different post of you. Nice photos and information!

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  22. You are so well spoken! Or well written? Lol either way I loved this post as it was informative and curious yet respectful. I love this post a lot.

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    1. Aww Ami you are always so sweet :)) Thank you doll... I think I'm better written than spoken, I speak too fast and don't edit lol... thank goodness there's editing in writing!!

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  23. Brilliant post and very sensitive to their culture. Loved everything about it :-)

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  24. Seems like fun. The Amish people seem to be a very kind people, i didn't know you could go take tours

    ~Sherine
    Check out my blog, comment, and follow if you like!
    Confessions Of A City Girl

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  25. That's a beautiful place and lOooOove that wagon. You look amazing! This is such a fun post :) xx

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  27. Great post! I'm fascinated by the Amish, so I would love to go visit Lancaster!

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  28. your so lucky to be able to travel and experience this things!! gives you such a different perspective on how other people choose to live!! love it sugar!!!

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  29. This was actually a very interesting read, thanks for posting this! I, like many other, don't know much about it so I can't really comment but I couldn't help but chuckle about the father essentially being the daughters wing man. haha

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  30. What a fun trip! I've always been curious to visit an Amish living space. My friend chose not to go the Amish route, but her family still is 'living simple.' She always tells me the most incredible things about the culture. How lucky are you to experience it! Great pictures, looks like you guys had a blast (:

    xx
    -Imani Love

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  31. This was a really fun read. I like when beauty bloggers chat a little about their life :)

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