Month: February 2020

Thank you so much for following my life and adventures in Shanghai! I’ve really appreciated all of your messages asking how I’m managing and holding up during the coronavirus epidemic. If you haven’t seen my prior three posts, which discuss the current situation in Shanghai and China, please take a look at them.

https://astronomerinshanghai.com/uncategorized/life-in-quarantine-week-1/
https://astronomerinshanghai.com/uncategorized/life-in-quarantine-week-2/
https://astronomerinshanghai.com/uncategorized/life-in-quarantine-week-3/

If you enjoy this blog, please subscribe and let me know that you’re following! To subscribe, enter your name and e-mail on the right side of the page. Once subscribed, you’ll receive an e-mail with each new post. If you have any questions about Shanghai, please let me know. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, if you know anyone who is concerned about me and the situation in China, please share this blog with them.

Life in Shanghai

I want to start this post by again thanking all of you who have reached out to message me by e-mail or through the blog to ask how I am doing and holding up. I really appreciate hearing from so many of you. Your messages remind me how many people care about me and help to lift my spirits. Before I update you about my life here, I want to once again reassure you that I am happy, I am healthy, and I am safe.

To start this entry, I’d like to update you all about the coronavirus situation here in Shanghai. As of this post (2/23), there have only been 335 cases in Shanghai. That means there were only 7 new cases since my last post! This is an excellent sign that in Shanghai, many of the measures taken by the Shanghai Municipal government are working! More importantly, of those 335, 249 have already recovered! Sadly, 3 people have died. So, here in Shanghai, the virus appears to be winding down. Additionally, there were no new cases in the Huangpu district, where I live (only 6 total).

Despite the improvements, there are still many safety restrictions in place. It’s still required to wear masks every time you go outside. Also, in my little lane neighborhood, we now lock the front gate (which was never locked before). Thankfully I have a key. :). Additionally, in most neighborhoods and buildings, guests are not allowed. Unsurprisingly, stores and malls require people to take there temperature (now on the wrist instead of the forehead) prior to entering. However, I did find it funny that when I entered the nearby mall to pick up some groceries, I had my temperature checked both when I entered the mall and then a few minutes later when I entered the grocery store! I guess you can never be too careful. 🙂

In terms of China as a whole, the number of new cases continues to grow. However, the vast majority of these cases are in Wuhan and Hubei province. Overall, the number of new cases per day has been generally declining, and has been on this trend for about the last 10 days. Moreover, Since the 18th, there have been more recovered patients in China than new cases. Hopefully this is a sign that the quarantines and rigorous travel restrictions put in place by the Chinese government are working. Additionally, one number that I constantly see in US news articles is that the fatality rate is ~ 2%. I want to emphasize that this is likely an upper limit. First, it’s likely that (especially in Wuhan) there are cases that are undiagnosed. Second, if you remove Wuhan and Hubei, then the fatality rate is only 0.76%. So, outside Wuhan, the numbers are drastically different. Sadly, outside of China, the number of cases is growing, particularly in South Korea. So, while things appear to be improving here in China (or at least moving in the right direction), I’m still hoping and praying that a cure will be discovered soon.

At this point, I’m sure it surprises none of you that I spent the majority of the week working from my apartment. I continue to be grateful that I’m able to do so much of my Astronomy research on my laptop. In terms of research, I’m predominately working on my DES project. As I noted last week, I found a bug in that analysis that I have since fixed. While I was able to fix my mistake, this mistake has actually been somewhat of a scientific blessing, since the corrected measurements have allowed for a lot of new scientific inquiries that will undoubtedly strengthen the analysis of this work while also illustrating the robustness of my scientific results. Additionally, I began work on my Luminosity function analysis again and am quite close to matching the first of two figures I am aiming to recreate. So, overall, this was a productive week. I’m aiming to keep this up for the weeks to come.

Additionally, on Wednesday, the Zu research group had our first Zoom meeting! It was great seeing and hearing from my boss/mentor, Ying, as well as some of his graduate students. Many of the students are spread out throughout China and not in Shanghai. One of the students was in a very rural part of China and we could hear a rooster crowing the entire time he was talking! 🙂 Despite being separated, it was nice to reconnect with some of the other people that I work with and am used to seeing on a daily basis. Additionally, Prof. Zu informed me that SJTU will be beginning online classes this week. This is a precaution that they are taking because they don’t want to delay the start of the semester indefinitely and end up with the semester running through the hottest part of the summer.

In terms of the rest of my life, I’m still able to get wonderful and fresh produce and food from Kate and Kimi. So, for this weeks cooking, I made black bean burgers. Additionally, I’m continuing to have plenty of time to read books and comic books as well as get caught up on all my many podcasts. I’ve also been able to watch plenty of TV (though on my computer) and listen to music. So, I’m at least able to entertain myself . 🙂

I did make some time for fun activities this week! On Friday, I joined my friends Shimi, Heather, Yael, and Barbara for dinner (I’ll discuss the food later). It was great seeing everyone in person and I had a wonderful time chatting and hearing about how everyone has been. Also, the restaurant was packed, so it was really nice to see many people out and about.

The last few days have been incredibly nice (in terms of temperature and air pollution levels), so on Sunday, I joined Heather and Shimi for a bike ride around Xintiandi, the French Concession, and Jing’an (about 3km). I haven’t really done any biking in Shanghai before, but even biking while wearing a mask, it was a fun way to get to see so much of my new home city!

One thing I noticed was that unlike a few weeks ago, there were a lot of people out and about. Many people were going for walks or getting food or walking there dogs. It is nice to see that some of the life has returned to Shanghai. Below are some highlights from my outing!

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And yes, for those of you wondering, sometimes my beard prevents the masks from fitting as tightly as desired, especially when I smile, but I’m able to tighten and readjust the mask so that it works functionally.

We also stopped for ice cream after our bike ride! I got blueberry!

After out bike ride, we met up with Yael and her adorable dog Shoshi. Overall, this was a fun day and it was great fun to see so many of my friends! It’s days like these that help to make the current quarantine situation tolerable.

Food in Shanghai

On Friday, we went to a Sichuan restaurant for dinner. Sichuan food is generally spicier than food in Shanghai style. Thanks to help from my friends, we were able to get a ton of yummy vegetarian dishes!

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We got an eggplant dish, spicy vegetarian ma po tofu, cabbage, cucumber, potato shreds, and my personal favorite sesame noodles! Other than the numbingly spicy ma po tofu, the rest of the food wasn’t too spicy and it was all great!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

When we were at dinner this week, all five of us joined the now weekly Zoom Shabbat, this week hosted by Kehilat Beijing! While it was funny to have all of us sitting around a table staring at our phones, it was really nice to feel a part of the broader Jewish community both here in Shanghai and in China! While these zoom events are nice and a lovely way to connect with members of the community, hopefully, we’ll be able to have some in person events soon as well.

Despite another week of continued semi-self-imposed quarantine, this was a good productive week. It’s very comforting seeing friends and colleagues both in person and through Zoom.

I hope that this update about the coronavirus epidemic and how I am coping has reassured you about my health and safety. Hopefully a cure will be discovered for the coronavirus soon and the spread will continue to slow or even cease. I plan to make this another productive research week as well as take advantage of the nice weather the next few days (going for walks). I look forward to updating you all about my life and adventures next week! If you have any questions/comments or concerns about Shanghai or my safety, let me know!

In peace,
Jesse

Thank you so much for following my life in Shanghai! I’ve really appreciate hearing from so many of you asking how I’m managing and holding up during the coronavirus epidemic. .

If you haven’t, please subscribe and let me know that you’re following! To subscribe, enter your name and e-mail on the right side of the page. Once subscribed, you’ll receive an e-mail with each new post. If you have any questions about Shanghai, let me know. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, if you know anyone who is concerned about me and the situation in China, please share this blog with them.

Life in Shanghai

To all of you who have either reached out to me via the blog, by e-mail, or by talking to my parents, thank you so much! I can’t begin to explain how supported it makes me feel to know that so many people care about me and are putting me and all those impacted by the coronavirus epidemic in their thoughts and prayers. As I’ve said in each of my last two posts, I continue to be safe and I more importantly continue to be healthy. If you haven’t read my previous two posts detailing the situation, please do.

As I’m sure many of you suspect, I’ve spent much of the past week inside my apartment. I’ve only left to walk to the nearby grocery store to get essentials, go to the fruit store, get more face masks, and take out the trash. Each time I’ve gone out, I wear a facemask, which takes away much of the enjoyment of being outside. At this point, I’m a little tired of spending so much time in my apartment. However, thankfully, I have a big apartment that I can move around in and am not confined to one room. I’m very glad I didn’t listen to some of my fellow postdocs and get a 1 room apartment.

Shanghai has instituted new safety measures. First, access to apartment complexes and lane neighborhoods (I live in a lane neighborhood) are restricted. Delivery people have to leave the items at the front gate with the security guard or in my case a member of the neighborhood committee. Additionally, all visitors (if they’re allowed in) must sign in and provide their name, cellphone number, and passport/ID number. At the mall where the grocery store is located, they take your temperature and provide you with hand sanitizer as you enter. Additionally, people returning from outside Shanghai must spend 14 days at home in quarantine before returning to work.

Shanghai is clearly taking every preventative measure to restrict the spread of the virus. For the most part, this seems to be working in Shanghai. When I last posted, there about 290 cases. Since then, the number is up to 330 in Shanghai. So, it appears to be slowing, which is good. Additionally, the Huangpu district, where I live only has 6 cases. This information has gone a long way to making me feel safe in my neighborhood. Although, I continue to hope and pray particularly for those in the Hubei province (where Wuhan is located) that a cure will be discovered soon.

On Tuesday, I went to pick up more masks. These masks were provided by David Shields, an Israeli Health Insurance company that provided free masks to all Israeli’s and members of the Jewish community in Shanghai. This was an incredibly generous donation. So, I want to again extend my gratitude to David Shields and the Israeli Consulate, as well as my friend Yael, for organizing the effort. Each community member received 20 disposable masks. While I don’t need them at this time, I’m glad that I have a safety net. Through this action and those I’ve read about in the news, It’s been heartwarming to see members of the world community come together to donate emergency medical supplies to the people in China. It’s times like this that I hope remind the world that we must come together as a global community and not be divided by national, political, or racial lines.

Like last week, I have spent a ton of time doing research. I’m incredibly grateful that I can do so much work on my personal laptop. In terms of research progress, I unfortunately discovered a bug in my scientific analysis, which led to a minor meltdown on my part. However, thanks to reassurance and support from my Ph.D. advisor, Prof. Chis Miller, I was able to refocus and get back to work. Thankfully, that error has been fixed and has so far not impacted my results. I’m in the process of redoing the remaining analysis, but in general am confident in the robustness of my scientific results. 🙂 Once these results are rerun, I’ll continue to work on finalizing the two papers that I have in progress. I also stayed up late and attended the most recent DES cluster telecon (which was a 1am China time). It was nice to reconnect with the DES cluster group, since I’m often unable to attend such late meetings. At SJTU, we’ve also continued our daily zoom telecon’s to talk about interesting scientific plots. Even though we haven’t talked in person, it’s great to hear from my colleagues and know that we are all safe.

In terms of the rest of my life, groceries are still being delivered. So, I did a lot of cooking this weekend. I made delicious vegan brownies as well as vegan hot and sour soup with bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, and tofu! I have plenty of good and healthy food to eat. I’ve continued to read a lot of comic books as well. I also finished my friend Joseph Kaifala’s autobiography Adamalui: A Survivor’s Journey from Civil Wars in Africa to Life in America. I know many of my readers are members of the Skidmore community who fondly remember Joseph from his time at Skidmore. If you haven’t read his autobiography, I highly encourage it. It’s a powerful read and provides a unique insight into the political situation in Sierra Leone and the surrounding countries during the mid 1990’s – 2000’s.

In terms of fun activities, after picking up my masks on Tuesday, I got lunch with my friends Shimi and Heather and then spent the afternoon working alongside them at a local coffee shop. Even though we were all doing our own work, it was so much nicer to see other people working than it has been being isolated and working from home. So, as you can likely surmise, some places, mostly restaurants, coffee shops, and grocery stores, remain open, although none of them are very crowded. Additionally, I’ve continued to do pushups, crunches, and jumping jacks for exercise. However, at this point though, I really miss running.

I do want to note that I did not go on any walks this weekend. There was a walk on Sunday, but it was quite cold, in the upper 30s, the coldest it’s been here, so I wanted to stay inside. However, warmer weather (60s) will return later this week.

Despite the little time that I spent outside, I remain amazed by all the beautiful sights in Shanghai!

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However, my personal favorite was Pandas depicted doing The Last Supper!

Food in Shanghai

On Tuesday, I got lunch with my friends Shimi and Heather at an Indian restaurant We got a spinach and paneer dish, a vegetable curry, and an eggplant and potato dish.

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Unlike with the Chinese food, which is infinitely better in Shanghai, the Indian food from Little India (in Saratoga) is quite similar to the Indian food I can get here.

Jewish Life in Shanghai

While there were no in person Jewish events this week, on Shabbat, we did a virtual zoom Shabbat, which I led! About 15 Kehilat Shanghai families, as well as members from Kehilat Beijing, joined together to light the Shabbat Candles, say the blessings over the grape juice and bread, sing a few songs, and say what we were thankful for.

While it would be wonderful to see everybody in person, it was very nice to see so many of our community come together to celebrate Shabbat!

Despite the continued semi-self-imposed quarantine, this was another productive and good week. It’s comforting seeing (even through zoom) that people I know are still here. There are also other people beginning to return to Shanghai, so hopefully the worst of the virus is over.

I hope that this update about how my life has been impacted by the coronavirus has reassured you about my health and safety. Hopefully a cure will be discovered for the coronavirus soon. I plan to make this another productive research week as I continue to make lemonade out of lemons or the best out of an unfortunate situation. I look forward to updating you all about my life and adventures next week! If you have any questions/comments or concerns about Shanghai or my safety, let me know!

In peace,
Jesse

Thank you so much for following alone with my life in Shanghai! I really appreciate hearing from so many of you asking about how I’m doing during this difficult time.

If you haven’t, please subscribe and let me know! To subscribe, enter your name and e-mail on the right side of the page. Once subscribed, you’ll receive an e-mail with each new post. If you have any questions about Shanghai, let me know. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, if you know anyone who is concerned about me, please share this blog with them.

Life in Shanghai

I want to start this post by again thanking all of you who have reached out to either me directly or to my parents to ask about how I’m doing. I really appreciate knowing that so many people are concerned and care about me. I want to again reassure all of you that I am healthy, I am safe, and for the most part, I am happy. Since I don’t want to rehash all of the same information that I discussed on my last post, I recommend that if you did not read my last post, please do. It covers what’s been going on in Shanghai (https://astronomerinshanghai.com/uncategorized/life-in-quarantine-week-1/).

As I did last week, I spent the vast majority of this week in my apartment. I went out a few times to get some fruit and some household essentials as well as a few social activities. Every time I do, I wear a mask and gloves. When I return home I wash my hands. I’ve even been on the subway, which is incredibly empty. My understanding is that it is now strongly encouraged (maybe required?) for all people to wear masks when they are outside. This is purely a safety precaution and as discussed before, may not do much to help. Additionally, in order to enter most buildings and the subway, there are security guards set up outside to measure people’s temperatures. So, the city is clearly taking as many precautions as possible to make sure that people who are sick are not entering public spaces. Additionally, the city has required that anyone who returns to Shanghai from any outside location must spend 2 weeks in self-quarantine. So, the city is taking this very seriously. On a somewhat hopeful note, as of today, SJTU is planning to begin the spring semester on March 2nd. So, hopefully that will happen!

While the number of infected has continued to rise in China. In the past week, the numbers have only slowly grown in Shanghai. There are ~300 cases. There are still only 5 cases in the Huangpu district where I live, which is reassuring. So clearly, the Shanghai Municipal Government is doing a very good job keeping the city safe. Additionally, outside of Wuhan and Hubei province, the virus is not very deadly. There are only 26 deaths outside Hubei, many of whom are either the elderly or the very young. Additionally, I recently learned that the World Health Organization is sending a team of doctors to help study and work on a cure for the virus. So, hopefully things will begin to turn around and improve soon!

As I emphasized in my last post, I’m neither insanely brave nor naive about the current situation. As of now, I still believe I am making the correct and safest decision by not fleeing from Shanghai. I’ve talked with a lot of people about what they are doing. Many of us are concerned about the potential for quarantine upon arrival to the US as well as the fear of getting on a plane for 12+ hours with someone who is sick or being in heavily crowded areas (like airports or train stations). So, I think for the time being staying here is the best option.

While the city at times feels relatively empty, many restaurants, malls, and stores are still open and there is some small sense of life returning to the city as people return from the lunar new year holiday. However, below you can see Fuxing Road and Huahuai Road, two generally busy streets that are practically deserted on a Sunday afternoon.

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Having already been through self-quarantine for a week, another week of quarantine wasn’t too bad. Unlike the author of the recent New York Times op-ed, I am getting dressed every day and not staying in my pajamas. I’ve spent a ton of time doing research and writing. So, I’ve been super productive. I’ve had multiple telecons with collaborators in the US, which has allowed me to have some scientific interactions and conversations. In terms of my research. I’m currently finalizing the results of my first Dark Energy Survey project and will be writing those up this week. I also wrote a draft of my paper based on conversations with Song Huang. So, in about the span of a month, I’ve done the research and written a paper! I’ve never had such a quick turnaround and it feels awesome! I plan to continue revising this paper this week and send it to some collaborators for feedback. Additionally, although we haven’t been doing AstroCoffee since SJTU is closed, a group of the postdocs have gotten together (via zoom) to chat about new figures and results each day. It’s been really nice to see and hear from my colleagues and friends! Thankfully, they are healthy and safe as well.

In terms of the rest of my life, I’m still able to get groceries delivered via Kate & Kimi, so I have a stocked fridge and plenty of healthy food to eat. My internet is still working well so I can catch up on tv. I’ve also been reading a lot of comics!

Despite the quarantine, I did get to do some fun things. On Friday, members of Kehilat Shanghai got together for Shabbat dinner (more on that later). Then on Saturday, I got coffee with my friends Shimi and Heather. It was really nice on both occasions to see physical people (not via my phone or computer) and relax and not talk about the coronavirus. As I’ve said before, it’s very reassuring that so many of my friends are still here in Shanghai. This outbreak has really made me grateful for the supportive Jewish community and the many new and interesting friends I have made.

I also went on another walking tour with Historic Shanghai this week. This time, we explored the old French Concession. This is an area that isn’t too far from where I live and is full of tons of interesting looking art deco buildings. I’ve seen a lot of these places before on my runs to Xujiahui park and walks around Shanghai (including my visit last summer), but it was really nice to learn from Patrick and Tina about the history of this part of the city.

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As you can see in the pictures above these are really interesting and unique looking buildings. Many of these are apartment buildings, built in the 1920s-1940s, that are far different from the majestic skyscrapers that make up Shanghai’s skyline. Prior to joining Historic Shanghai on so many tours, I really hadn’t noticed how prevalent the art deco style was in Shanghai.

I really enjoyed the opportunity to go outside and stretch my legs on the walk. Since I haven’t been running (I did see runners during the walk), it was nice to stretch and move around. Running is definitely one of the things I’m missing most right now. While I could run in a mask, I have a lot of trouble controlling my breathing when I wear the different masks, so running would probably not be best for me.

I also saw a few more photo worthy things on my way to and from the walk.

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Food in Shanghai

While I didn’t have any extravagant Chinese meals this week, since the tour was through the former French Concession, so we stopped at three bakeries!

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I enjoyed a butterfly cookie, a piece of chestnut cake with mocha creme, and a matcha and red bean cake. The matcha red bean cake was my favorite! Interestingly deserts aren’t very sweet in China, despite the European/French influence on deserts. I still haven’t really determined if there is a traditional Chinese desert yet since every bakery I’ve been to is heavily French influenced.

Jewish Life in Shanghai

This week, the Kehilat WeChat group became much more active. From community members trying to find out who else is currently in Shanghai to those same members organizing get togethers for coffee and Shabbat dinner. It was really comforting to see the community come together! I’m really glad that these things happened, since prior, I was disheartened by the absence of any messages from the community leaders.

On Friday, my friend Barbara hosted Shabbat dinner at her lovely lane house home!

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As you can see, a group of 7 of us came together for Shabbat dinner. We had delicious food (I made a quinoa, couscous, and roasted vegetable salad). It was wonderful being together to celebrate Shabbat. We were also joined via zoom by other members of the community who were either unable to join or outside Shanghai. Since going to Shabbat services and dinner has become a part of my weekly routine, it was comforting getting to have that opportunity again! I hope that these sorts of events continue to happen!

Despite my continued semi-self-imposed quarantine this week, it was a good and productive week. As with last week, it is comforting seeing people I know who are still here and makes me remain comfortable with my decision to stay.

I hope that this update about life in Shanghai (and the coronavirus) has reassured you about my health and safety. Hopefully the spread of the virus will slow and a cure will be discovered soon. I hope that you enjoyed my pictures from the former French Concession as well. I plan to make this a productive research week. I look forward to updating you all about my life and adventures next week! If you have any questions/comments about Shanghai or my safety, let me know!

In peace,
Jesse

Thank you so much for following alone with my life in Shanghai!

If you haven’t, please subscribe and let me know! To subscribe, enter your name and e-mail on the right side of the page. Once subscribed, you’ll receive an e-mail with each new post. If you have any questions about my life in Shanghai, let me know. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, if you know anybody who is concerned about me here in Shanghai, please feel free to share this blog with them.

Life in Shanghai

I’m sure many of you are very aware about the coronavirus outbreak in China. So, I want to start this post by reassuring you that I am healthy and I am taking all the required safety precautions. For the most part I am staying in my apartment. However, every time I go outside I am avoiding crowds, wearing a mask and gloves, and washing my hands when I return in doors. I now have three masks. One is temporary and only good for a few more hours outside, but the other two are fine for another 4-6 months each, so I think I’m fine on that front. I know many of you have reached out to my parents or me directly to see how I am doing. I really appreciate all the love and support that I’m receiving in this nerve wracking time. Thank you for thinking of me.

Since my last update the number of cases of the coronavirus has continued to grow in China. Thankfully, the Chinese government appears to be doing a good job containing the virus as the majority of people who are sick are in Wuhan. I think that this is one of the times were there is a real tangible benefit to the authoritarian state here in China. The government can much more easily control where people go and where doctors are sent than in the US.

Here in Shanghai, there have been ~ 200 cases and nearly all of them are people who had either been to Wuhan or had interacted with people who had been to Wuhan. Statistically, this is an incredibly small number for a city with 27 million people (even if a fraction of the population is out of town for the lunar new year holiday). As my boss Prof. Zu told me, the draconian practices of the Shanghai municipal government seem to be working. Wet markets have been shut down, subways and public spaces are frequently disinfected, and schools/universities have remained closed. SJTU is currently closed and the start of the semester (February 15th) has been postponed indefinitely. However, many stores and restaurants are open, so the city is not entirely shutdown.

So, you may be wondering why am I still in China and am I scared? I’m not going to lie and say that I am fearless and completely at ease. While there have been a few times I’ve freaked out about not knowing what to do (as my parents will attest), for the most part, I feel that Shanghai is safe and not heavily impacted by the virus. I received reassurance from my boss Prof. Zu, that everything is fine in Shanghai. I’ve also talked with many friends (mostly Kehilat members) who are also staying in Shanghai. So, it’s very reassuring to know that I’m not alone (even though it can be lonely). Another reason I haven’t left is that I’m not convinced that going to an airport (where there will undoubtedly be large crowds) and being on an airplane for 12+ hours will actually be safe/healthy. Additionally, I don’t really want to deal with the potential of quarantine if I return to the US. I’d rather remain here in my apartment, where I’m more comfortable.

So, since I’ve remained here, what exactly has it been like living in a self-imposed quarantine. While that is not a sentence I ever expected to be writing, it hasn’t been as terrible as it sounds. This past week I had the benefit of watching tons of fabulous tennis during the Australian open and more importantly, I’ve had a lot of time to make progress on my DES project (the final portion of my dissertation) as well as on my research based on my conversation with Song Huang. So, I’ve set the audacious goal of having the DES paper submitted to the collaboration and having a draft of the other paper written by the time that work at SJTU resumes (which hopefully will be in a few weeks). So, maybe I will get something positive out of this experience. 🙂

Additionally, Kate & Kimi, the grocery delivery service that I use is fully operational, so I have a fridge stocked full of vegetables, fruit, and veggie products. I’ve done lots of cooking so I also have homemade spicy peanut soup, coucous salad, and apple sauce bread (Thanks for the recipe Mom!).

While the recommendation is to remain inside, I have gone outside a few times. Mostly to pick up more masks (the blue one above) and to buy some fruit, soap, and kitchen essentials or take out the trash. When I went to the grocery store, a security guard took my temperature with a digital thermometer before I was allowed in. So, people are taking precautions. Additionally, I met up with friends from Kehilat (more on that later) and went on a tour with Historic Shanghai. Even though my life has been greatly altered by the coronavirus, I haven’t become a shut-in never leaving my apartment.

The two main things that I miss are the social camaraderie of working in an office and getting to go running. While I could run wearing a mask, I find that I have a harder time breathing when I wear them while walking, so I don’t want to risk it. As a result, I’ve done more crunches, pushups, mountain climbers, and jumping jacks in my apartment on my yoga mat than I would like too, but it’s better than nothing. I’m still trying to stay fit and healthy through this crisis.

As I noted earlier, I went on a walking tour of the historic buildings along the Bund that make up the former French, US, and British concessions with Historic Shanghai on Thursday. I also learned that Bund is just a Indian-British term used to describe the embankment along a river. Additionally, for those of you curious, Patrick and Tina who run the group have lived in Shanghai since 1997 (including during the SARS outbreak) and Patrick is also a Brown alum (Ever true!). So I know that if they’re still leading tours each week, that it’s safe for me to be outside .

The Tour began at a hotel, where there were two magnificent lions!

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You can see some of the recognizable Bund landmarks in the background.

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There are a ton of very interesting older buildings that were built in the Art Deco style. At times it feels like I’m walking around in an episode of Batman the Animated Series. 🙂

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We also saw the outside of a few churches that were built in the early 20th century. While beautiful, it feels weird to see a European style church in China.

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We ended the tour at Yuyuan (near the gardens). There were really fantastic Chinese New Year decorations up. One disappointing thing though is that the lantern festival, which is due to start next week, will likely not happen, so I guess I have something to look forward to next year.

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I’m really glad that I joined Historic Shanghai for the walk. It was really nice to talk to people and be out of my apartment. I’m thinking of doing another walk later this week.

In terms of other social activities, on Saturday, I got together with my friend Shimi and some of his friends for a game night. While there was still a lot of conversation about the coronavirus, it was a lot of fun relaxing over rounds of cards against humanity, exploding kittens, and quirkle! Also, during the game night, Shimi was interviewed for Israeli TV, calmly talking about the situation in China and why he’s staying in Shanghai!

Food in Shanghai

Despite the coronavirus, some restaurants are open. AIthough neither was very crowded. I had two meals out. On Thursday, after the walk, the Historic Shanghai group went to lunch. Thankfully, Patrick was able to order some vegetarian options for me (and another vegetarian). 🙂 We had seitan, tofu skin noodles, greens, and mushrooms with bok choy.

Then on Saturday, I met my friend and fellow Kehilat member Barbara for lunch at Vegetarian Lifestyle. This is one of my favorite vegan/vegetarian restaurants. We had gluten balls with vegetables, matsutake mushroom dumplings, crispy sword beans, seitan and vegetable curry, and crispy bamboo!

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My favorites were the dumplings and the curry! The food was fantastic!

Overall, despite being in a state of semi-self-imposed quarantine this week, it was a good week. It has been very comforting to see that so many of the people that I know here in Shanghai (many of whom like Patrick, Tina, Barbara, and Shimi, have lived in China for years) are staying in Shanghai. This has really helped to reaffirm my decision not to flee.

I hope that my update about what is happening in Shanghai (with respect to the coronavirus) has reassured you about my health and safety. Hopefully a cure will be discovered soon so life can return to a semblance of normalcy. I hope that you enjoyed my food photos and pictures from the Bund. This upcoming week will hopefully feature some more research progress. I look forward to sharing my upcoming adventures with you all! If you have any questions/comments about Shanghai or my safety, let me know!

In peace,
Jesse