Two weeks ago a few of the journalism professors here at the UA held a small workshop for students to review and introduce safety tips for traveling across the border. This got me thinking about students who study abroad and how often they are unaware of the local laws of the area they are visiting. When I went to Barcelona I was advised by the program personnel to educate myself and be knowledgeable of the Spanish laws and regulations. Also, I think it is important for students to research and become familiar with local cultural customs, trends or social "rules" prior to going abroad. Knowing local laws is important for obvious reasons, but knowing about the cultural customs can be just as crucial because if you are unaware, you are more likely to unintentionally disrespect the natives, or possibly put yourself in an uncomfortable or dangerous situation. For instance, before I studied in Barcelona I read about different traditions of the city, and I discovered that hundreds of thousands of men walk along the beaches with a cooler as they shout out "agua, cerveza, Fanta," (water, beer, Fanta (soda)) but as they approach people, they will whisper "coca? hashish?" These men are actually selling drugs, and, I eventually learned, they never seem to get in trouble for it. However, those who choose to buy drugs from these men in public who get caught do get in trouble. Now, lets say you didn't know that the men that shout "agua..." were selling drugs, and you're laying thirsty on the beach so you wave one over, and they ask "coca?" and you think they mean Coca Cola, since they are holding a cooler with beverages in it... you can be getting yourself into a sticky situation. Now, that is just one example, but I think you get the point of why it is important you know about the local laws, customs and trends of the city or country you will be living in while you study abroad. So, here are some resources for those who are coming to Arizona to study (or visit), and some for those who are visiting or studying in Mexico.
Arizona...
Arizona State Legislature - A list of revised statutes in Arizona. Every law can be found on this Web site. Click on the link, pick the category you are interested in, and you will see a list of all the laws (or a brief description of what the law is about, i.e. "Inmate health care; costs") and if you click, you will see the complete law.
Traffic laws in Arizona - For those of you who may be operating a vehicle while driving, it is really important to know the local traffic laws. Here is a breakdown of some rules and the consequences for breaking them.
Some Arizona liquor laws - For students who may be interested in reading about the drinking laws in Arizona, since US drinking laws tend to be very different from other countries, here is a link for some information regarding liquor laws.
"Laws for Kids" - This site is geared toward a younger Arizona audience, but it may be helpful for those who don't understand all of the legal language and complexity of the laws as they are officially written.
Mexico...
Mexican Laws - this Web site has a complete list of Mexican laws , and most have English translations.
An electronic guide to Mexican Law - This site has a brief overview of the Mexican government and legal system, along with an extensive list of resources for finding laws for each state in Mexico.
Laws tourists should be aware of - This is geared toward visitors and gives an overview of drinking laws, drug laws, weapons laws and customs regulations. This site also gives tips for what to avoid when shopping, eating or simply sightseeing, and also provides emergency numbers, including the Mexican Ministry of Tourism's emergency hotline. Also, a complete list of locations and numbers for US Consulates is organized by city/state.
Crossing the Border - this link to the Trip Advisor Web site is a great resource for information about crossing the border. There are more "official" sites where you can find out about the process of crossing the border, but I think this is a helpful and clearly rendered overview.
Travel.state.gov - Again, this site also covers all of the important information for people wanting to travel to and from Mexico.
I highly encourage people to check these out, and also do some of your own research to find out about local laws and traditions. Talking to others who have traveled to the same place can also be extremely beneficial. You really don't want to think you're buying a soda, and end up in jail for attempting to buy cocaine, do you?
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