Farah Mubarak, 24, was born in Texas but has spent most of her life in Jordan. Her life is a mixture of cultures: her Palestinian heritage, her American birth, her Jordanian home, and her Chinese husband. She is now engaged in a new multicultural experience as a first-year student in Tsinghua University’s diverse Global Business Journalism program. She spoke with GBJ reporter Jamille Tran.
Let's start with some basic questions. Can you share a little bit about yourself?
My name is Farah Mubarak. I'm almost 25 and I was born in 1996. I was born in Texas but my family were having visa problems at that time and it was difficult for them to stay there. They just decided to move back to Jordan when I was 9 years old. And now I live in the capital of the country.
Mubarak is living in Amman city, the capital of Jordan
I studied English and Chinese at the University of Jordan and I also studied in the Confucius Institute for about two years. I also studied Chinese in China at Shenyang Normal University for one year and I studied at Wuhan University as a master's student. But then I didn't continue because I decided to change my major to Tsinghua University’s GBJ program.
How about your family?
I have five younger sisters and I'm married. My husband is from Hubei, China. He came to Jordan and we had a wedding here in Jordan. When I went to China, we had another wedding in China.
Now he's not in Jordan. He's in Saudi Arabia because he works there. I haven't seen him for a long time because of the travel restrictions. He studied Arabic so he can speak Arabic. I can also speak Arabic so I guess that's a good thing. I can also speak Chinese so we didn't really have a problem with language.
Have you encountered any cultural differences in your daily life?
We do have cultural differences sometimes. In my daily life, for example, in eating, I couldn't use chopsticks that well. When I went to China and everyone was inviting me to eat stuff and they only use chopsticks and that was a problem.
Mubarak and her Chinese husband
Is your husband is the reason why you chose to study further in China or China was your interest before meeting him?
I study Chinese and was into China before meeting him, but I guess he was the reason I went to Wuhan University because it is near where he is from. But I didn't stay there. I studied for a little more than a semester in 2019. In September of 2019, I enrolled there and then after the pandemic, I evacuated and left and then I just decided to change my major because the program I was studying was in Chinese and I felt like it was too difficult for me. It also wasn't very global. Everyone was Chinese. The professors were all Chinese. I feel like it wasn't suitable for me.
How does the Covid-19 pandemic affect your life and study?
I think the pandemic affected me in all aspects of my life. I may be one of the first people to be affected by it because I was in Wuhan when they discovered it. It was very shocking. I guess nobody really expected it and then I evacuated and came to Jordan. Yesterday, my mom and my sister tested positive for Covid-19. That's also very difficult. Maybe I also have it right now. I think it's just difficult because you can't help them in any way.
How about vaccine delivery in your country?
We have vaccines but people don't trust the government. A lot of people feel like it's not safe. And we don't have a lot of vaccines, just a few thousand. It's for older people.
You say that people don't trust the government. Is it just about the vaccines or in so many aspects?
I think there's a lot of aspects. I think there's not a lot of trust between people here and the government. Whenever the government says something, people always question them. They have theories about why they're saying this or why they're doing this. There's just a lot of mistrust and the vaccine just one of these examples.
How about you? Do you trust the government?
When it comes to vaccines, I trust vaccines because I trust the people that made these vaccines. But the government, not necessarily.
What do you think are the reasons why people in your country do not trust the government?
I feel like because of everything that's happening socially, economically, and geographically. In our area, we're very not stable. We have borders with Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel. All these countries have conflicts and people here are always afraid that we will become like them or they're always on edge. I feel like because they've seen so many tragedies. When it comes to safety, Jordan is safer than all these countries. It's known for its stability and security. But this is affecting our economy because all the focus is on security. The economy is just really bad. There's a lot of unemployment.
I would like to know more about your personality, can you tell me at least three adjectives that can describe yourself?
I think I'm an introvert so I'm not very social but I'm also confident and adaptive, I guess. I can adapt easily anywhere I go. I think I’m confident when it comes to my culture and my identity and my roots. I think the people in Jordan are very confident.
Farah Mubarak – a confident girl in her root
How do those characteristics affect your decisions in life?
I feel there are a lot of misconceptions about people in this area, like our culture our religion. I think the most common one is our religion. A lot of people have a very negative idea about it. I want to change that idea, especially in the media. I feel like it's not portrayed very accurately in the media and I want to kind of try to change that.
I see your background on Linkedin and you did have some experiences in translation. What did you find interesting in those jobs?
When I was an undergraduate, I worked as a research assistant. I translated research from Arabic to English. After I graduated, I worked as a legal translator in an intellectual property company so I translate a lot of legal documents. It's a very detailed type of translation because you have to translate very legal things. If you do something wrong or you translate something not in an accurate way, it could lead to some problems.
Do you think that you will follow the job (translator) for a long time?
Before, I thought that I wanted to be a translator. But after working in the industry, I feel like it's just not creative enough. You have to be very accurate and I like to write so I think journalism can help me to write better.
Do you think the translator job helps with your current performance in GBJ class?
Yes, of course. I studied English literature and also my career and my experience in translation helped me because I had to be very careful about the words I use and how I use them. Something new that I learned after joining the GBJ program is journalism writing because it's a very different style of writing. Although I like creative writing and literature, I feel like it's not very practical.
Do you plan to become a journalist after studying at Tsinghua University?
When I first joined the GBJ program, I knew that I wanted to write. I wanted to join a global program but I never had the idea or I never imagined I would be a journalist. It was very sudden for me but I'm glad that I kind of took that risk.
Can you tell me a little bit more about how you feel about the GBJ program at Tsinghua University?
First of all, I'm really glad that I joined the program. Even though it was a risk because I already had a scholarship from Wuhan University and from the Chinese Embassy here. When they knew that I quit university, they weren't very happy. But I don't regret my decision. I think the people in the program have the same vision as I do and I think the environment is more suitable for me. My favourite course would be the “Hot Topics in Global Economy” course because I learned a lot about a variety of issues without books.
How can you earn money to support your life and study?
I guess in this aspect, I'm kind of lucky because I don't have to earn anything. My husband does everything in that aspect and he is willing to support me financially. He works as an entrepreneur in Saudi Arabia so that's how we make a living. I don't really have to work at the moment and just focus on studying.
What business is he doing?
He is an entrepreneur. He sells wholesale products so he buys things from China and he ships them to Saudi Arabia and he sells them wholesale. He also does the translation between Chinese and Arabic for businessmen or other Chinese people there that can't speak Arabic. I support him, of course.
How have you planned your life in one or two years or even further, five or ten years?
Before the pandemic, I thought I had a plan but after the pandemic, I think I can't really say where I'll be in five or ten years because it really depends on the present and a lot of things are not clear yet. So I decided just not to plan so far ahead. Just focus on my current state.
In the long run, would you like to stay in Jordan or you would like to move to somewhere else in the world with your husband?
Actually our home is in China, but I haven't been able to go back for more than a year. I think this is also a problem because they're not taking into consideration foreigners that are married to Chinese people or have homes there. Because I’m enrolled in a university, they treat me like any other foreign students. I don't have any advantages so this is really difficult. Originally, we wanted to live in China but now it's not clear where we will be.
They wanted to live in China but now it's not clear where we will be
What do you think is the current challenges that you need to overcome?
First of all, I feel like getting a sense of stability. I feel like right now I'm not very sure about the future because of everything that's happening and I can't control it. I think that's the main challenge.
What do you think you can do to overcome that challenge?
Just not to worry, I guess. There's nothing I can do but just focus on the present and not worry about the future.
Do you have any favourite books or hobbies?
I don't have any special hobby. I like to read novels, that's my main hobby. There is an author called Paulo Coelho. He has a very famous novel named The Alchemist. It's one of my favourite novels and I also like all of his novels in general. I think his books are very spiritual in a way and they really make you think about life and the meaning of life. They have a very deep meaning, which I like.
What is your motto in life?
I don't have a quote but I can say I have a very strong faith. I feel like everything happens for a reason. This is what I believe in. There's no point in feeling bad or regretting decisions.