The Amish often have a reputation for being reserved toward non-Amish, whom they call “English.” Nevertheless, the Amish Ordnung stresses values such as humility, simplicity, and community, and thus most Amish believe it is important to interact with friendliness to outsiders in order to demonstrate godliness. If you live near an Amish community, there are probably Amish-owned businesses where you can chat with locals in their language.  Bakeries and restaurants are very common businesses owned and operated by Amish. In addition to helping you practice your language skills, you’re sure to find some delicious food at these places, as the Amish are famous for their baked goods. Shops featuring Amish handcrafts, such as wood carvings, quilts, and furniture, are also very common in Amish areas.  Sometimes, Amish farms will have signs inviting visitors to take a tour or buy homemade goods. Feel free to stop by if you see a sign, but if you don’t, respect the farmers’ privacy. Thanks to the internet, it’s easy to set up shared-interest groups. A “conversation group” or meet-up will allow you to meet others interested in the study of the language and practice your conversation skills. Kutztown University maintains a conversation group that schedules its meetings on Meetup.com. Tourism is a significant part of some Amish areas, particularly in Holmes County, Ohio, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania (the two largest Amish settlements in the world). In these areas there are several Amish cultural or heritage centers whose purpose is informing outsiders about Amish culture and faith. Kutztown University in Pennsylvania maintains a Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center and museum. They offer events and a library in addition to other resources. The Pennsylvania German Society is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to studying Pennsylvania Dutch culture and language. In addition to sponsoring or running several language classes in the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, area, they offer a curated library, a journal, a dialect series, and other historical sources and documents.
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One-sentence summary -- Find someone to chat with you. Join (or start) a language group. Visit a cultural or heritage center. Become a member of the Pennsylvania German Society.


4G and 3G are designed to deliver high bandwidth to cellphones; however, the distance between the transmission tower and the cellphone must be within a certain range of each other to be effective. The farther away you are away from one, the weaker the signal is going to be. If it is absolutely important for you that you can be reached for calls and texts, consider switching your phone to a 2G network instead. 2G offers a lower bandwidth than their newer counterparts but in turn you will have decent coverage in most places, especially where 3G/4G signals can't penetrate very well.  Imagine in between dense housing or enclosed spaces. Because of the lower data rate, 2G signals are able to get to hard to reach places. The only downside is that your internet connection won't be as fast. At any rate it is perfectly usable for calling and texting. To top it all off, your battery will not drain as fast since 2G doesn't require that much power. Consult your manuals of your phone on how to enable 2G networks. A new category of Smart Signal Booster is emerging. This new category of boosters utilizes super-powerful baseband processors to clean the signal before it is rebroadcast (hence the "Smart" in the name Smart Signal Booster). Most of the Smart Signal Boosters have gains of 100db (compared to analog booster's gain of 63 to 70db).  That's a 1,000 times to 2,500 times difference. Some of these new boosters, while more expensive than the traditional analog booster, are completely plug and play: you plug them, and they usually work right away without the need for complex installation of outdoor antennas (usually the donor antenna is inside the booster box).  Truly plug and play, they can be used with almost any carrier, require no installation and actually work. Most of the time, Smart Signal Boosters are carrier-specific (i.e. you need to get the one that works for your carrier). If you are having cell problems in one location, such as your home or office, then try installing a cellular repeater. Cell phone repeaters pick up low cell signal with an antenna, boost the signal and broadcast it over the coverage area. They typically need at least 2 bars of signal where the antenna is placed (usually outside or on the roof) but can substantially improve cell reception, as well as battery life and data download speeds. Some repeaters might need technical knowledge such as the frequency of your carrier, and only work for one service provider. For a less technical approach that improves reception on all carriers, use a dual-band cell phone repeater. A few cell phone manufacturers make a "Hi-gain" antenna for their handsets, which may be changed in-store or by the user at home.  Although these won’t improve signal as much (or at all) as a repeater these antennas are relatively inexpensive and you are not confined to one location. Most networks operate independently of one another, using their own frequencies and constructing their own cell phone towers. Chances are if the signal is bad with one network you can improve by switching. Most cellular networks these days allow you to transfer your phone number when you change provider. Some will offer you a great deal if you're a new customer – big companies are running out of newbie customers, so they have to look to customers from their competitors. Search around for who has the best service in your area and who is offering the best deals. This may take time, but where cell phone reception is inadequate, property owners can host small cell sites on their properties for major wireless carriers. 3rd parties with Wireless Revenue Programs allow you to register your property to be eligible. Then when there is carrier interest in the area you'll be on the short list of places they choose from and will have optimal coverage. They may even pay your phone bill. What's not to like?
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One-sentence summary -- Try switching to a 2G network. Utilize a Smart Signal Booster. Install a cellular repeater. Upgrade your antenna. Change networks. Host a cell site.


If you haven't set Spotify as your default music service, you will need to add "on Spotify" to the end of your commands.  "Alexa, play 60s music." "Alexa, play Maggot Brain by Funkadelic." "Alexa, play hip hop." "Alexa, play Drake on Spotify." You can play any curated playlist or one that you have made yourself by name.  "Alexa, play my Discover Weekly." "Alexa, play 'My Workout Playlist.'" You can control anything you would with Spotify app, just with voice.   "Alexa, pause/resume." Pause or resume playback.  "Alexa, next/previous." Plays the next song or the previous song.  "Alexa, volume 6." Adjusts the volume level from 1-10.  "Alexa, shuffle." Shuffles the current album or playlist.  "Alexa, what's this?" Tells you the name of the current song/artist/album.
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One-sentence summary --
Ask Alexa to play any artist, song, album or genre. Play a Spotify Playlist. Use playback controls.