Last week, Zack Folk, Iota Mu/Missouri 2015, posted a picture online from his visit to the Great Wall of China. We took the opportunity to reach out to Brother Folk for some additional information about his summer study abroad experience. Our thanks to Brother Folk for sharing his photo, and his thoughts:
Currently, I'm studying International Studies with an emphasis in East Asian Studies at the University of Missouri and the best way for me to get the most out of my education is to live in the area that I am learning about. I wanted to study abroad in Beijing to learn the most I can about Chinese culture and be able to practice speaking Chinese with local speakers.
Since this is the first time I have ever been out of the United States, the culture shock was definitely apparent. The biggest difference and hardest challenge is definitely the language barrier, but I’m slowly getting better at overcoming that.
Living in China as compared to the US is not too different. More people ride around on bikes, there are a ton more people, and they eat a lot different foods, even though there are still a lot of places to get western foods. There are also a lot of restrictions on things such as free speech and internet access and it’s hard to look anywhere and not see a security camera. Even though there are these restrictions, I haven’t had to worry too much as long as I don’t look like I’m starting any protest, which I definitely don’t plan on doing.
I’ve had the opportunity to visit many different places, such as the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and I even had the opportunity to live with some farmers in the Shanxi province.
I definitely think that anyone who has the opportunity to study abroad should take it, and if they don’t have the opportunity, then they should make it. Studying abroad puts you way out of your comfort zone and helps you grow as an individual a ton in a short time. While I’m a bit biased, I think China is the best place to study abroad because of the constant changing political and economic status of the country. Something is always happening here and the country is constantly changing. If you’re interested in international relations at all, this is the country to study in.
I chose to bring the Theta Chi flag mostly to show my pride for being a brother of the best fraternity in the world and I wanted to show others that Theta Chi brothers are all around the world. Becoming a brother of Theta Chi has been the most important thing I’ve done in my college career. My brothers in the Iota Mu chapter are my best friends and I would not be who or where I am today without them. I’ve had a chance to meet brothers from other chapters around the country and it is always great to have that instant connection with them. Sadly, I haven’t had a chance to meet any brothers while in China, but I’ve been wearing my letters everywhere so I hopefully will meet one. While I love living in China, I cannot wait to see my brothers again when I return back to the US for the fall semester.
Thank you again, Zack, for sharing and we wish you safe travels, and a successful year back in Columbia!
You can keep up with Zack Folk on Facebook and also on Twitter @FolkyBear .
You can follow the Iota Mu Chapter on Facebook and on Twitter @ThetaChiMizzou .
Know of other brothers studying abroad? Have them send their stories (and great photo's like Zack's!) about their experience to news@thetachi.org