Git's local repository and remote repository — confusing concepts

Question

If I understand correctly, Git has two sorts of repositories: one called local, another called remote. My questions are extremely naive ones about the two types of repositor

Answer 1

If I have not yet set a remote repository, how can Git know where to commit my README file??

You are committing to your local repository (which is a proper repository with its own change control; it isn't just a local checkout … since you created it locally, it isn't even a local checkout!).

If you want to send changes to a remote repository (to back them up, make them available to other members of the team, or publish them to the world), you must push them.