VOA News - Living a Simple Life: the Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

VOA News - Living a Simple Life: the Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania: "Living a Simple Life: the Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Written by - Jerilyn Watson
01 May 2005

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Pennsylvania Amish


(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA, in VOA Special English. I�m Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I�m Steve Ember. Come with us today as we visit some people who lead a simple life: the Amish in Pennsylvania.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
A visit to parts of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is like a trip back in time.
People live in simple farmhouses. Family members, including small children, all work in the fields. Crops are planted and harvested without modern farm technology.
Most Amish people are easy to recognize. The women make their own long, dark-colored dresses. They cover their hair with white cloth hats, called prayer caps. They do not wear jewelry. The men grow long beards. They wear black clothing and dark hats.
VOICE TWO:
About sixteen thousand to eighteen thousand Old Order Amish live in Lancaster County. This area is also known as Pennsylvania Dutch Country.
'Dutch' is a name for people from the Netherlands. Many of the Amish, however, came from Germany. It is often said that they were called 'Dutch' because English colonists could not say the correct word, Deutsch. But language experts note that people in England often used the term 'Dutch' as another word for 'German.'
VOICE ONE:
The Amish live much like their ancestors did. Modern things like electricity, central heating and indoor water pipes a"