How to visit Amish country in Ohio? I want to get beyond the for-tourist world and learn something more authentic about plain culture, but I don't want to be a rude outsider. Where should I go? Who should I talk to? What should I say? I'll be spending the day tomorrow (and again for later visits, I'll bet) poking around Holmes County, Ohio, hoping to get a good feel for "plain" living. I'm trying to do some research before I go, but, you know, they're Amish and not well represented online. So, what should I see?
I hope to avoid the kitchy, touristy crap (read: Der Dutchman restaurant), off the beaten path stuff, places where the dopes in RVs never see.
What do I hope to see/learn/experience? I want to learn how this culture really lives. I don't care about the furniture that they build for outsiders, but what they use in their homes. I want to talk to some Amish so that I can overcome my ignorance that consigns them to "them." If they were non-religious middle-American farmers, I could (try to) find a local cafe, bar, feed store and stand around and listen, and eventually try to strike up a conversation. Do Amish go to cafes? Is it rude to strike up a conversation with an Amish man? Yes, I'm shockingly ignorant, and hoping to be less-shockingly-ignorant before I do something offensive.
I know they're a society that keeps themselves intentionally separate, and I want to respect their beliefs, but I also want to respectfully understand them on their own terms. So whether it's Amish or Mennonite or plain-living Quaker, how can I experience their world?
I hope to avoid the kitchy, touristy crap (read: Der Dutchman restaurant), off the beaten path stuff, places where the dopes in RVs never see.
What do I hope to see/learn/experience? I want to learn how this culture really lives. I don't care about the furniture that they build for outsiders, but what they use in their homes. I want to talk to some Amish so that I can overcome my ignorance that consigns them to "them." If they were non-religious middle-American farmers, I could (try to) find a local cafe, bar, feed store and stand around and listen, and eventually try to strike up a conversation. Do Amish go to cafes? Is it rude to strike up a conversation with an Amish man? Yes, I'm shockingly ignorant, and hoping to be less-shockingly-ignorant before I do something offensive.
I know they're a society that keeps themselves intentionally separate, and I want to respect their beliefs, but I also want to respectfully understand them on their own terms. So whether it's Amish or Mennonite or plain-living Quaker, how can I experience their world?
