Horses in Costco

Lancaster, PA. Amish Country.

It is a strange, strange place. For a girl aspiring to live in the city, Amish Country frankly kind of scared me in the beginning.
Restaurants closed by 6pm.
There were horses and buggys parked in Costco. And at a gas station (hay station? o.o)
And when we were driving in the middle of the freaking highway, we found ourselves behind a horse and buggy. When it turned right, it had a right blinker too!
On Sunday, the place was deserted.

But....
The people there are so pretty. Must be because of the pure gene pool.
Food was so good. So, so good.

What I wondered though, the entire time I was there, was how people can just stay there their entire lives and live that way. Don't they wonder? How have they existed for so long? Philadelphia isn't all that far away... Actually, right on the border of the beginning of Amish country is a chain of hotels, three outlet malls (!!!), and a million chain restaurants (including Five Guys!). But when we crossed that invisible line that floats somewhere over the highway, everything changed. The air seemed stiller, quieter. There was more snow on the ground. Buildings shrank, looked strangely homier, older. Period film - esque. The billboards, instead of saying "[insert restaurant name]-next right", read "[insert restaurant name]-3miles".
Of course, they have association with the modern world (there was a girl at Target in Amish clothes and etnies), but it's so limited. And inconvenient. To think that the really strict ones have to take a horse and buggy or walk. No internet, phones... They're even exempt from Social Security and possibly healthcare!
I even considered against asking the really cute guy who worked at this restaurant we went to if I could take a picture with him.
What do they think, knowing that people specifically go to Lancaster to gawk at their lifestyles? Is it akin to the Masai, etc. tribes in Africa, or the ethnic groups in China? Do they feel exploited, intruded upon by the modern world? Can the basic tradition of the Amish people even survive now that they're so exposed to cultural tourism?
... ... ...
Never imagined I'd witness a mashing of my Model UN topics (sustainable tourism/effect on cultures; cultural tourism/ecotourism/cultural protections; indigenous rights and globalization) so close to home.
I didn't even have to go to Africa to see a world so totally different.

NYC NYE Times Square 2011

People told me I was crazy/stupid/[insert word] for trying to do this.
Yes, I was.

People told me I wouldn't be able to use the bathroom.
Bladder control.

People told me it's ridiculous.
I think I seriously strained my back for standing for 12 hours straight.

I'm still exhausted, but....
I sat on plastic bags on the streets of Times Square;
I signed my name onto a giant Happy New Year sign made by some kid I don't even know;
I cheered and waved at random cameras and tried to read Carson Daly's prompt thingy;
I screamed Tik Tok and Dynamite and I Want It That Way at the top of my lungs while waving a giant blue balloon (that I later threw into the crowd);
I danced (as I always do) in Times Square and didn't care who was watching;
I jumped up and down in a shower of confetti even though my toes were going numb;
I got together with 1 million others and did what few in this world are willing or crazy enough to do.
I watched the ball drop on New Year's Eve in Times Square, New York.

Pictures are here.
Greyson Chance's Performance:





The Last 30 Seconds:

Happy New Year World!