I was in Karlsruhe, Germany, a relatively small city that is home to Karlschochschule International University. On the first day that we interacted with the University, we sat in on a lecture by Dr. Desmond Wee, a professor there. He taught us about walking culture and encouraged us to think about our definition of culture. Following the lecture, he had us walk in the vicinity of the school by ourselves for an hour to see what we noticed. I was nervous to walk around in a foreign country by myself, not knowing the language or how to navigate the area. I kept to a small circle to be sure I would make it back on time and not get lost. As the hour passed, I began to get more comfortable and noticed some things about the German culture. There were elementary school children wandering the streets by themselves. There were so many cafés with people taking their time to enjoy their coffee or dessert. There were luxurious cars all over, not one rundown vehicle. There was a Mercedes garbage truck. All of these things stuck out to me because they contrast the American culture that I am used to. At home, people are reluctant to let their kids wander by themselves, there are more “to-go” places for coffee and snacks, there are old junkers driving on the road, and the garbage trucks are not a luxurious brand. These observations are random and probably not very interesting, but it showed that even though people all over the world generally have the same tasks to accomplish, they go about it in such different ways. Stopping to pay attention to your surroundings can provide a lot of insights, no matter where you are. Studying abroad provides the opportunity to understand other cultures through experience, and grow from there.