As the program reaches its third and last quarter, three international JSK Fellows share their thoughts about their life at Stanford and their expectations. The interviewees are Jing Jiang, from Beijing, China; Najia Ashar, from Karashi, Pakistan, and Anh Hoà Truong from Fontenay-sous-bois, France. The interviewer is Jeremy Hay, also a JSK Fellow, from Santa Rosa, Calif.
What did you anticipate your experience as a Knight Fellow would be before you arrived?
Anh Hoà: As it was the first time in my career that I was going to live a whole year outside of my country, it was somehow like diving into the unknown. A bit stressful but also extremely exciting.
Najia: It was a big surprise for me when I got selected for this fellowship. As I was getting ready to leave Pakistan for the U.S., I was really unsure about what to expect. It was like a dream I never dreamt before! I was going to work on an idea that until then I only had in my mind. I also wondered how life there would be. It was also the first time I moved with family, and I was worried about how I would manage as I was going to take classes and work on my project at the same time.
Jing: For me, too, it was the first time I left my country. It was also the first time I had to take care of William, my 4 year-old-boy, by myself. Back in China, my parents and my husband always helped me. I also worried about my project. You know, it is media innovation, different from our main routine work such as reporting or editing. I was convinced that I was going to face a lot of difficulties but at same time, I was also convinced that I could overcome them.
What has been the biggest challenge in your life as International Fellows?
Najia: The biggest challenge, I think, was the culture shock. Western culture is very different from Eastern culture. It took us time to understand some social conventions, such as how to behave or talk in different situations. Here, for example, people hosting parties often ask guests to bring something. In Pakistan, a host would never do that. It’s at the guest’s discretion if they want to bring sweets, presents, etc. The language also presented some challenges. When we arrived, we were comfortable with our English. However, in certain situations, like talks and discussions, I ended up a bit lost. As the JSK Fellowship is an international program, every fellow — U.S. French, Chinese, etc. — has a different accent, a different way to speak English. And we all came with different views of what’s funny. All the international fellows agreed that sometimes they didn’t always understand why everyone was laughing.
Jing: It also took me time to get acclimated to this new environment. Looking for a suitable housing was the first challenge. If you have not been to the Bay Area before, it is hard to imagine how expensive the housing is — even though JSK provides housing supplements. There is another challenge beyond money. That is preschool. Most K-12 children can be enrolled in public school according to where you live. But kids under 5 years old can only go to private preschools or day care. (Even if you have a child in public school, you have to think about after-school programs if you want to work full days, especially for kindergarten children). Although there are eight day care centers for children on the Stanford campus, only one has an after-school program (Pepper Tree). So when you get a fellowship, it is never too early to think about this issue. All the children’s centers on campus are very popular so there are long wait-lists, from six months to a year depending on your children’s ages and when you want to start. But it’s easy to apply. I applied for three centers on campus in July and enrolled William at the Children’s Center of the Stanford Community in December. I have to say, it deserves the long wait-list. It’s an amazing program.
Anh Hoà: Coming from France, the cultural gap in the U.S. wasn’t wide. But still, I had to adapt in some aspects. For example, I like to crack jokes, and I really enjoy sarcasm. But it’s not always understood or appreciated here. Or maybe it’s just that my jokes are not funny at all! More seriously, it also took me and my wife some time to take care of administrative duties (DMV, Social Security …), to find a reliable car and to explore the campus and understand how things work here. But we are happy we’ve experienced all that.
As the fellowship moves toward its conclusion, you have to deal with what happens next.
Najia: It feels like I’m in the same state as when I was leaving Pakistan for the U.S. I have questions in my mind: What am I going to do next? In which position will I be? The difference is that I am more confident as I have more knowledge and wisdom. It’s an improvement that will be fruitful when I am back in my country.
Anh Hoà: I had a precise idea of what my plans after this year were going to be when I had just arrived here. But now that have I soaked up the atmosphere of the fellowship, Stanford University and Silicon Valley, I have discovered a lot of new opportunities. I’m trying to figure out what the best direction for me is going to be. So, I have even more questions now than at the beginning of the program.
Jing: It’s a bit the same for me. What I want to do now is different from what I wanted to do at the beginning of the fellowship. I met with a lot of different people and gathered a large amount of information. The next step is how to digest all this knowledge and apply it to my project. Also, I am eager to find partnerships and funding to continue my project after the end of the fellowship.
In what way do you think the fellowship is going to affect your career?
Anh Hoà: It already did, I think. Being here at Stanford and in Silicon Valley, and cultivating an entrepreneurship mindset — which is not something I was used to as a journalist — meant going out of my comfort zone. That’s been and that still is overwhelming and empowering.
Najia: This fellowship is a transformative year for me. If you take into account the country where I come from, having been selected for this program has been a once-in-a-lifetime chance. And being able to exploit the resources of Stanford University is a real treasure of knowledge for me. Whatever I’m learning right now, I know that it’ll change my whole life.
Jing: JSK is a life-changing program. This opportunity is very special and I cherish every moment of the program. I believe it will not only change my career, but also my life. It is not the right time to say what I will do next, but without doubt, I will do something that I have never tried before.
