Hello!
My name is Celina and I decided to take a weekend class about the Amish culture. My homework is to create a blog. For my first post I am going to answer a few questions about myself, the United States and my knowledge about the Amish culture.
- The first question is about the meaning of my name (I am not quite sure why it is important for this class but however). Celina has its origin from the french name Céline. Both are coming from the latin word 'caelum' which means sky or heaven.
- I got the question what surprised me about living here in the US. And to be honest it wasn´t much. I am from Germany and our countries are very similar. But still there are a few things that are very different and sometimes I was very surprised what kind of things. One example are the cheap gas prices. Currently in Germany you have to pay around 90 Euro (100$) to fill up a normal sized car which is a lot and I am definitely going to miss the prices here when I am back home. But what was most surprisingly for me are the kids. From my point of view Americans are very overprotective when it comes to their kids. In Germany we take our bikes and ride with them 10 min to school starting at the age of 9/10. Here the kids can hardly walk 5 min by themselves. Or be a few hours alone at home. Of course there are always excpetions. But from my experience and what I heard from friends and other people it is hard for the kids to learn independence. Another important point for me is that most kids are getting spoiled by their parents and that most parents are not taking care of their kids manners. They get hundreds of toys for Christmas, their birthday or even for Hannukah and the presents are everything the kids care about. One personal experience I had was at one of the eight days of Hannukah. The kids were waking up and came in the living room and the first thing they said was "Where are the presents?" No good morning or whatever. Just this question. And that shocked me. And then when they opened their presents they didn't pay attention on what it was. They were ripping off the paper and ran to next one. I probably don't need to mention that you shouldn't hope for a 'thank you' because you wouldn't get one. I have to mention at this point that not all parents and children are like that. I am living in a family where the kids know when to say 'please' and 'thank you', where table manners are very important and bad behaviour is punished by a strict time out. And in my opinion this is the right way to parent your kids.
- The third question is a question from me about the Amish culture. I am wondering if the kids are proud to live as an Amish or if they would rather live in the modern world.
- Last but not least.....What are three words that describe how you feel about (or what you know about) Amish culture? 1. curiosity 2. admiration 3. sympathy
My first blog is coming to and end and I hope you kind of enjoyed reading it. Maybe you can relate to some things I was talking about.
Have a good weekend!
- The first question is about the meaning of my name (I am not quite sure why it is important for this class but however). Celina has its origin from the french name Céline. Both are coming from the latin word 'caelum' which means sky or heaven.
- I got the question what surprised me about living here in the US. And to be honest it wasn´t much. I am from Germany and our countries are very similar. But still there are a few things that are very different and sometimes I was very surprised what kind of things. One example are the cheap gas prices. Currently in Germany you have to pay around 90 Euro (100$) to fill up a normal sized car which is a lot and I am definitely going to miss the prices here when I am back home. But what was most surprisingly for me are the kids. From my point of view Americans are very overprotective when it comes to their kids. In Germany we take our bikes and ride with them 10 min to school starting at the age of 9/10. Here the kids can hardly walk 5 min by themselves. Or be a few hours alone at home. Of course there are always excpetions. But from my experience and what I heard from friends and other people it is hard for the kids to learn independence. Another important point for me is that most kids are getting spoiled by their parents and that most parents are not taking care of their kids manners. They get hundreds of toys for Christmas, their birthday or even for Hannukah and the presents are everything the kids care about. One personal experience I had was at one of the eight days of Hannukah. The kids were waking up and came in the living room and the first thing they said was "Where are the presents?" No good morning or whatever. Just this question. And that shocked me. And then when they opened their presents they didn't pay attention on what it was. They were ripping off the paper and ran to next one. I probably don't need to mention that you shouldn't hope for a 'thank you' because you wouldn't get one. I have to mention at this point that not all parents and children are like that. I am living in a family where the kids know when to say 'please' and 'thank you', where table manners are very important and bad behaviour is punished by a strict time out. And in my opinion this is the right way to parent your kids.
- The third question is a question from me about the Amish culture. I am wondering if the kids are proud to live as an Amish or if they would rather live in the modern world.
- Last but not least.....What are three words that describe how you feel about (or what you know about) Amish culture? 1. curiosity 2. admiration 3. sympathy
My first blog is coming to and end and I hope you kind of enjoyed reading it. Maybe you can relate to some things I was talking about.
Have a good weekend!
<3
AntwortenLöschenThank you, Celina! I asked the name question because it's so interesting to hear about name meanings and naming traditions from different families and cultures (mine means "good friend," and I'm named after my grandmother and great-aunt). Thanks for telling us about yours!
AntwortenLöschenThanks also for sharing your insights into US culture as compared to Germany. I studied in France for a semester in college and remember being surprised about the gas prices, too. I think we in the US would be much better at fuel conservation if we had higher taxes on gas. And your comments on parenting in the US are also things I've been thinking about recently, since my husband and I have young kids and come into contact with different parenting styles often. It is often surprising to see the huge variety of things that different parents accept or allow! I'm so glad your current family emphasizes kind and polite behavior for the kids.
Your question about how Amish kids feel is a fascinating one. I hope we will be able to explore it together during our course!
Hello Celina,
AntwortenLöschenI like your view of what surprised you about the USA. I am from Germany too and my view on it is very similar. That Americans are really protective is true. On the other side I feel like they are more child friendly too. Raising kids here is easier than in Germany.
Hi Celina,
AntwortenLöschenthank you for sharing your comparison with Germany to USA and the meaning of your name is really nice :)