The best way to be prepared when you travel is to arm yourself with knowledge. And that means being aware of the local news and the social climate before you go. So here’s how you go about that.

One of the coolest resources out there is The Big Project, a UK-based site that has links to English-language newspapers from around the world.

We’re talking everything from The Albanian Daily News to the Zimbabwe Independent.

A similar site, called Newspapers24.com, allows you to browse papers by language, and there are currently 624 English-language papers linked there.

If you’re just looking for headline news, the Washington, D.C.-based Newseum has a program called Today’s Front Pages.

Just click on a destination and see the front page of hundreds of newspapers from 78 countries.

If you want to go deeper, there are links to the paper’s online edition.

Or, if you’re on the go, check out the World Newspaper iPhone app, which gives users links to 4,000 daily publications organized by country.

Now, for some people, nothing compares to picking up a newspaper and reading it cover to cover.

So once you get to your destination, forget the Web sites and ask where you can find the local English-language paper.

You’ll be glad you did.

For more tips, visit our Cultural Immersion section.

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