Tourists Unite! The Amana Colonies

After a day and a half of mowing lawns, weed whacking, and sweeping driveways under the hot Iowa sun, our fearless leaders decide its about time for a chill day. For the morning we had a bit of time to discuss a couple of aspects of what our class is all about. The first was how we have been expressing what we have learned about being leaders. We went around the circle and told a brief examples of that expression. A quick break and off to our second aspect; changing the world. With a partner we discussed our goal and the first step we were going to take in order to achieve it. After the discussion it was on to a lunch of left over Chinese food then hopping into our "Rent-a-Wreck" vans for an hour plus drive along the pretty Iowa countryside. We pulled into the parking lot of two small buildings. In one held the largest rocking chair I've seen in my life standing about 20 feet tall, using 300 feet of lumber. The other contained wood crafts and a broom making shop. We then went to the Amana Colonies, a communal society once based on a religious way of life founded in Germany. We visited a museum and watched a video on early Amana culture. We were then let loose in groups to tour the quaint little town. Looking into craft shops and walking through the old town cemetery, we were given a taste of what living in Amana would be like. We are excited to see what tomorrow brings as we start renovating low income apartments! -Ariana