The two of us live about a mile away from Mennonites but I have never imagined how strange their lifestyle is, and i see them in city once a while buying stuff however that is just about it! Our college has a program dedicated to reading strange cultures and why some have stayed the same for centuries, then this year, it was my class’s time to experience the difference.
I was overcome with excitement and my parents tried to help me keep my cool and advisedme on what to do and what not to do while in the trip… Part of being there involved spending the night and joining the community in their afternoon-to-day activities.
On the afternoon of the visit, culture shock hit me right from the edge of town, however large strips of land with so much crop grown all over… Everyone seems to have duty and they sync in well with the rest.The greatest shock came when every one of us had to settle in for the night, then although I did not expect to see any indoor air cleaning system, I did not see a lot of other things such as an oil heater, gas heating system, or any kind of climate control features. The only heating devices available were wood stoves and coal. Amazingly they were quite efficient that I forgot about the electric oil furnace and radiant heating systems I see back home, with this easy life, they hardly need air conditioning reps around, no boiler repair to worry about, no cooling install and of course, not a heating business in sight. I thought almost everyone needed a tested air conditioning filter to get quality A/C service however no, the mennonites were doing just fine! My quest to think more about Heating plus Air Conditioning to educate them about it was all in vain. What an experience!