Welp. I've mostly settled in to my room in one of the dorms at RWTH Aachen University. I live on the ninth floor of one of die Türme, "the Towers," some of RWTH's oldest student dorms.
In the week I've been in Aachen, I've set up my internet, gotten approved to use the laundry, and helped my floormates clean all the communal spaces on our floor for an inspection that apparently will determine whether we get to keep our Wifi access this month. Student housing in Germany is very different than what I've experienced in the US. Here, dorms function more independently from the university, with students staying in the same room for several years. Students also have to furnish their rooms themselves and participate in running and cleaning the entire building. I'm certainly not going to take toilet paper in a communal bathroom for granted again.
On Saturday I went to a party organized by the students in my tower and had the opportunity to talk with some of the other residents about their experience at RWTH. Turns out, some things about students at technical universities never change. They complain about a boring social life, feeling burned out on engineering, and the university caring more about its research than student education. They appreciate the study skills they've gained in college and dream about applying them to more interesting and creative pursuits.