A major rule of having a VISA in a different country is registration at the local bureaucratic office. This was a hassle as I mentioned before due to not being a German speaker, but it was necessary: otherwise, we would lose our visa and have had to return to the U.S.A.
A silly law, but an important one is that Germany has a great system of bike transportation. Despite this fact, I did not know that if you don't have a working bike light on the front of your bike, you could get a pretty hefty fine as a “traffic violation”. (Thankfully, a friend had warned us about this so we never got caught!).
Sustainability—Learn about your country's ways of reducing their carbon footprint. Germany has a unique system of recycling. I did not know anything about their system before traveling, and so it was a bit of a learning curve. It is, however, something I miss now I am back in the U.S.A.
Resources
Ebooks--I know as students you are tremendously busy, but try to find some ebooks to listen to while working out or traveling on public transportation to educate yourself about your country. You do not need to know every single detail (unless that really interests you) but ebooks will make you more informed.
Documentaries—These are also a great resource to provide an overview of perhaps each of the topics I am exploring in this journal. Also, YOUTUBE has become an incredible resource with its mini videos that dive into all of these topics.
Vloggers/Bloggers—There is a diverse number of travelers who have shared their modern experiences of the world on Youtube or the internet, and you should take full advantage of this.
