March 2020 – Astronomer in Shanghai

March 29, 2020March 29, 2020

Life in Quarantine: Week 9

Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you so much for your interest about my life and experiences in Shanghai! As the world continues to deal with the covid-19 epidemic, I want this blog to serve as a message of hope that while this entire experience is difficult, eventually things will improve. It will take awhile to return to normal, but nonetheless, things will get better. You can see the arc of improvement over the last 8 entries. I do note that this may not be the same timeline everywhere. If you haven’t been following along with my blog, please check out these entries.

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/
https://astronomerinshanghai.com/uncategorized/life-in-quarantine-week-4/
https://astronomerinshanghai.com/uncategorized/life-in-quarantine-week-5/
https://astronomerinshanghai.com/uncategorized/life-in-quarantine-week-6/
https://astronomerinshanghai.com/uncategorized/life-in-quarantine-week-7/
https://astronomerinshanghai.com/uncategorized/life-in-quarantine-week-8/

If you enjoy my blog, 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 or the current situation, please ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, if you know anyone who needs reassurance that things will get improve, please share this blog with them.

Life in Shanghai

As I did last week, I want to ask all of you how you are doing. Hopefully you and your families continue to stay safe and healthy. As the number of cases around the world, but particularly in the US have skyrocketed, I continue to feel for all of you and hope the the situation will improve. Covid-19 has brought the world to a standstill. I’m sure that many of you are adjusting to a new normal. Whether it’s your first week or two of working from home, having to deal with kids who are now going to school online, or figuring out how to get groceries delivered, I’m sure this has been a difficult experience. While the situation that I’ve experienced living in Shanghai is not entirely the same as what you are experiencing, I hope that you can take comfort in reading about my experiences and learning how things are moving in the right direction here in China. As I said in my opening, things are generally improving and they will begin to elsewhere as well.

I hope that all of you are taking social distancing to heart. That practice, along with maintaining good health and hygiene (WASH YOUR HANDS FOR 20 SECONDS) are the two most important things to slow the spread of covid-19 and stay safe. Additionally, while social distancing is difficult, I hope you can connect digitally via Skype or Zoom or over the phone with friends, family, and colleagues who are in similar situations. Those conversations have really helped me stay positive during this situation.

Before I discuss the situation here in Shanghai, I want to emphasize that we must refer to this virus as covid-19 and not by any of the racist names that have been touted by the current administration. Being here in China, I can see how deeply the virus has impacted people’s day-to-day lives as well as many businesses. These people and other Asian peoples around the world are not to blame for covid-19 and by referring to this virus in any of the names that the current occupant of the White House has used only gives credence to the notion that someone is at fault for this pandemic. This is clearly scapegoating tactics being used to distract from the fact that the current administration has failed the United States. Moreover, the world needs to come together to support doctors, nurses, and scientists who are working to fight and prevent the spread of covid-19, not be divided by racial lines.

While life is generally moving in the right direction here, we are still not in the clear. Although I remain healthy and safe, everything is not normal. The situation in Shanghai has unfortunately gotten worse in the last week. Many of the museums that were previously reopened have been closed again. Additionally, while there have been almost no local cases, there have been a large number of imported cases this week. In total, there were 98 imported cases this week (492 total). This is the largest single week increase in quite some time. Based on the number of imported cases here in China, there is a lot of fear of a second wave of covid-19. In an effort to curtail this situation, China has temporarily banned all foreign visa holders from entering the country. However, given that a number of the imported cases are from native Chinese citizens returning home, it’s unclear how effective these efforts will be. Currently, in Shanghai, the recovery rate is down to ~68%. Most of those still infected are recent returnees. However, for China as a whole, the recovery rate is currently ~ 92%. So, hopefully, Shanghai’s number will increase and over time, the number of people who fully recover will start to drastically increase both in the US and elsewhere abroad.

I also want to emphasize that China has been dealing with this situation for over 2 months and is still not fully recovered. Thus, I want to emphasize that any belief that the situation in the US will be fully recovered (or recovered enough) to fully reopen the economy for Easter is both foolhardy and dangerous. So, I ask that all of you continue to follow social distancing guidelines and help to flatten the curve.

Given that the number of cases has continued to rise in Shanghai, it is unsurprising that SJTU (the university where I work) remains closed and will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future. While this is disappointing, I am still able to productively do my research from home. I made some great progress on my first DES paper and only have one final research task to rerun before finishing the paper. Additionally, I was finally able to take the time to start work on my DESI research. Additionally, I continue to have good research meetings with my research group here at SJTU and with colleagues abroad. One benefit of everyone working from home is that it’s been a bit easier scheduling meetings with collaborators in different time zones. 🙂

In addition to work this week, I was able to go running twice! It was very warm earlier in the week, even reaching near 80 (it’s back in the 50s/60s now)! I’m very glad that I’m able to go running surrounded by so many beautiful signs of spring!

I also saw an adorable cat during my run! There are lot of stray cats all around Shanghai.

Additionally, there continues to be no shortage on food. So, I’ve continued to buy lots of delicious and healthy food. This week, I made black bean soup and chocolate tahini cookies!

In addition to my runs, I also did some fun things this weekend. There aren’t restrictions on groups, so on Friday a group of 12 of us got together for Shabbat dinner. We went to a hot pot restaurant, which was a lot of fun (more on hot pot later)!

Then on Saturday, a group of my friends from Moishe House got together to play games! We played Quirkle, Cards Against Humanity, and Ramen Fury! It was a lot of fun to hang out together and enjoy a rainy Saturday playing games! The experience almost felt normal (except that we weren’t able to meet at the actual Moishe House, since foreign guests aren’t currently being allowed in that residential complex). Also, my chocolate tahini cookies were a hit! 🙂

Food in Shanghai

For Shabbat dinner, we went to a hotpot restaurant! For those of you unfamiliar, hot pot works like this.

1). Select your soup — I got a vegan vegetable soup
2). Select your veggies/proteins — We got loads of vegetables for the table (mushrooms, carrots, squash, lotus root, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, potatoes). Unfortunately, the restaurant was out of tofu 🙁
3). Make your dipping sauce — I mixed together soy sauce, fermented bean paste, peanut butter, chilis, sesame seeds, and scallions for a peanut sauce.
4). Cook your vegetables/proteins in the soup
5). Enjoy!

Below you can see the different ingredients I used in my hot pot meal as well as some scallion pancakes!

In general, hot pot is a lot of fun. It’s a great way to eat a ton of veggies, but some (like the lotus root took a long time to cook). I do wish we could have had some tofu though.

Additionally, on Wednesday, I also got lunch at a vegan restaurant with my friend Hannah Maia to talk about planning the Passover Seders.

We had tofu with bamboo and mushrooms, seitan ribs, noodles with vegetables, and eggplant! Chinese eggplant is amazing! Overall, it was another delicious vegan meal!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

In addition to starting to plan Passover, on Friday, as I mentioned earlier, a group of my friends from Moishe House got together to celebrate Shabbat.

You can see photos of us saying the blessings over the wine and over the Challah! It’s been really nice to see more and more people joining our weekly Shabbat gatherings, especially as the situation has begun to improve here in Shanghai. While I enjoy the Zoom Shabbats, and virtual activies, it’s been really nice to get together with people in person again.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been following the self-isolation guidelines and working from home for 9 weeks now. For the most part, I think that I’ve adapted well to my new routine and I’m glad that I’m still able to be productive. As many of you start your new work from home routines, I hope that you’re able to find the same success. If you need any advice about how I’ve been productive feel free to reach out.

I hope that this update about the covid-19 situation in Shanghai provides comfort and assurance that things will improve. It’s very important to take social distancing seriously and help flatten the curve. I plan to continue working each day on my research from home this week as well as planning the Passover Seders. I look forward to updating you about my life and adventures next week! If you have any questions/comments or concerns about the current covid-19 situation, let me know. If you need advice for dealing with a more isolated life or need someone to talk to, please reach out. Given all of your support, I’d love to provide you with my own.

In peace,
Jesse

March 22, 2020

Life in Quarantine: Week 8

Thank you so much for your interest in my life and experiences in Shanghai! As things have begin improving, I’ve looked back at all the loving and supportive messages I received. Thank you all so much! I want this blog to share as a message of hope to all of you that while the covid-19 situation is difficult and trying, things will improve. They may not improve as quickly as in China, but if you’ve been following the last 7 entries of my blog, you can see the arc of improvement. If you haven’t been following along with my blog, please check out these entries.

Life in Shanghai

Before I begin this week’s update, I want to offer words of support and encouragement to all of my readers. I hope that you and your families and friends are healthy and safe. I know how difficult self-quarantine and isolation can be. Although, the situation has drastically improved here in Shanghai, I know that many of you are now dealing with working from home and forced quarantine/isolation. As I’ve documented here, this has not been an easy time for me. However, I know you can and will make the best out of this difficult situation. So, I want to reassure all of you that things will get better, eventually life will return to normal. However, I also want to caution you that things may take longer to improve in the US and other countries than here in China. The Chinese government took drastic draconian actions to lock down the country and enforce social distancing and ban travel.

As I’ve documented here, in my opinion, my personal best advice is to make the best out of what is clearly a difficult situation, whether that’s cooking more, connecting with friends via skype or the telephone, or getting caught up on tv, make sure you take some time to relax and stay calm. As I did last week, I want to share some tips that I follow for how to best stay safe.

Social distancing is important. Avoid large crowds. This doesn’t mean you can’t go to the grocery store, but don’t go out to bars or go to places where there are large gatherings. Importantly, this means don’t travel, especially for leisure vacations! Now is not the time to go to airports or to go on vacation.
Wash your hands!!! Everyone must wash their hands for at least 20 seconds, particularly after being outside.
Continue to eat healthy and exercise. As I’ve done the last few weeks, you can go running or if you don’t run, do yoga or body weight exercises in your home.
Don’t isolate yourselves. Talk with your family and friends using FaceTime. Depending on where you are you may be able to get together with 1-2 people.
Don’t read the sensationalist news. Follow sensible news sources and listen to trained professionals, not the current administration. The Atlantic has been publishing a lot of really good and informative news articles.

I hope these tips alleviate some of the anxiety I know you are feeling. I’m nervous for you all and I remain nervous about the situation here. Despite the situation improving in Shanghai, as people return to China (from abroad), there have been many new imported cases here. If you want to know more about my experience or any of the precautions that I’ve taken, please reach out and ask. Given all the love and support I received from you all, I want to extend my support and help to you.

I do want to emphasize that I remain healthy and safe here in Shanghai. The situation in the city is definitely improving. The sentiment and energy in the city is improving. People are now out and about more than they have been, going to parks (picture was intentionally not crowded) and also even playing basketball! It’s been amazing seeing Shanghai reawaken, especially with the beginning of Spring.

In terms of the numbers, the number of new cases in Shanghai has unfortunately increased by a lot this week. However, nearly all of these have been imported cases, people who are sick (and asymptomatic) returning to Shanghai via airplanes. There are now 394 cases of covid-19 in Shanghai (70 more than last week). Currently of those, 63 are active. So, the recovery rate is currently at 83%. For China as a whole, the recovery rate is at ~ 89%. In Shanghai, many of these cases are new, so I believe that number will increase over time. However, I want to emphasize that of those 63 active cases 55 of them come from people traveling abroad (mostly Chinese nationals returning from the US and Europe). I implore all of you not to travel. The easiest way to spread this virus is to travel. Airports are crowded and many people don’t know that they’re sick because they’re asymptomatic. To alleviate the situation, upon arrival in Shanghai, as of 3/22/2020, people arriving from 24 of the most seriously affected countries (including the US) are required to do 14 days of self-quarantine, regardless of whether they are sick. Additionally, all arriving passengers are tested for covid-19. So, Shanghai is imposing strict limitations to help curtail the virus. While these actions may seem extreme, they are necessary.

On a more positive note, the government has lifted the order requiring residents to wear masks. However, the vast majority of people still are (myself included). I wear the mask mostly out of solidarity. I want to emphasize that wearing masks in East Asia is generally done when people are sick (with colds or the flu), so this idea exists within the culture. As discussed earlier, the mask may help halt the spread of the virus, but not prevent it. In addition, for the last few weeks, each time you enter a building, you have your temperature taken and get a squirt of hand sanitizer. Additionally, in Shanghai, every resident now has a personal QR code, through Alipay, that is updated as to whether you are healthy or not (based on government and hospital records). While this may seem like a lot, it’s really not bad and has become part of my day-to-day life. I hope that the US will consider taking these kinds of actions to keep people safe.

As I’ve done for the past two months, I’ve continued to work from home. I’m still making progress on my research even if I don’t have any noteworthy results this week. I’ve been working on my first DES project, finally making some small steps forward. I also finished a draft of my paper for another project that I’m working on. So, even though I’m working from home, I’ve still been productive. I know that all of you can be as well. 🙂 In terms of my research group, I’ve continued to have weekly meetings within the Zu Group. It’s been nice getting to hear and see some of the research that some of Prof. Ying Zu’s graduate students are working on. Additionally, for the past three weeks, SJTU has done Zoom colloquiums (which are in English). While it’s been very interesting hearing about the research, I find that it’s much easier for me to get distracted when the talk is on my computer. Also, during this week’s meeting, Ying mentioned that SJTU is talking about reopening, so maybe by mid-to-late April/May the University will reopen. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Chinese Academic Calendar, the semester goes until July.

As things have started to return to normal here, my life has continued to return closer to my old routines. I’m still able to get delicious and fresh vegetables and other foods. For this weeks cooking, I made tofu burgers and Cauliflower/white bean chowder. Additionally, It was very warm this week, in the mid-70s and even 80 (on Saturday). So, I went running 3 times! As many of you know, I love running, so having the opportunity to get outside (even wearing a mask) is something I treasure. During my runs and walks this week, I was surrounded by the natural beauty in many of the small parks that surround Shanghai. Shanghai is really beautiful in the Spring!

Additionally, I’ve continued to get together with small groups of friends. On Tuesday, I got together with my friends Hannah Maia and Casey for ice cream! Then on Friday, a group of us (mostly the regular Shabbat dinner crew) got together to enjoy a lovely Shabbat dinner.

On Sunday, I hung out with my friends Heather and Shimi for the afternoon. We got lunch and walked around the Huangpu and Xintiandi neighborhoods! One of the things that I’m most grateful for is the wonderful friendships that I’ve made during the covid-19 situation. I’m so glad that this situation brought us together. We got lunch at a food mall (in China, many malls have great restaurants, unlike in the US). Outside, there were decorations and advertisements reminiscent of some very familiar things! I was thrilled to see The Beatles and Snoopy!

In addition, during my walks this week, I saw a lot of other cool sculptures and artwork!

Food in Shanghai

I had two fantastic meals with friends this week! First there was Shabbat dinner on Friday!

We had a noodle dish, cauliflower, a vegetable curry, another noodle and bean sprout/veggie dish, tofu and eggplant (my favorite), a vegetable salad, and not pictured a delicious lentil dish and freshly baked naan bread.

On Sunday, I finally returned to a vegan restaurant for lunch! I love going to the vegan restaurants to try so many of the exciting and new dishes! As I’ve shown you before, the Chinese food is both similar and different to what you can get in the US. Some places, like Grasshopper in Boston are similar (except the portions are smaller here).

We had tofu skins, wheat gluten (a spongier version of seitan), eggplant (which melts in your mouth), kung pao seitan, and lion’s head mushrooms (which was great!). I look forward to sharing more vegan food with you all soon!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

As noted above, for Shabbat, I got together with friends to celebrate. In addition, Kehilat Shanghai and Kehilat Beijing are still doing Zoom Shabbat blessings and candle lightings. While now, I am mostly connecting with the Jewish community in person, I’m glad that the zoom candle lightings and interactions are continuing, especially since many community members are scattered around the globe. I’m happy to see that many other Jewish communities are doing Zoom services as well. A great way to stay connected during this time.

Additionally, this week, a group of Kehilat Shanghai board members met to plan our celebration of Passover. We’re excited that things have improved so that we are able to gather together for a community seder. I’m also going to be helping to lead and organize the Seder, so this won’t be the last mention of Passover here. While I know it’s a few weeks away, I hope that everyone who observes Passover is able to celebrate in a way they find meaningful.

As we’ve now reached 2 months of semi-self-imposed quarantine, I’m glad that I’m able to make the most out of my new normal lifestyle. So far, things continue to improve here and hopefully that trend persists and spreads throughout the world. Remember everyone can do something to help flatten the curve.

I hope that this update about the covid-19 situation in Shanghai and how I’ve dealt with it and continue to deal with it provides comfort and assurance that things will get better. Take social distancing seriously, it’s the best way to slow the spread of covid-19. I plan to continue working each day on my research from home this week. I look forward to updating you about my life and adventures next week! If you have any questions/comments or concerns about Shanghai or the current situation, let me know! If you need advice for dealing with a more isolated life, please reach out. Given all the support I’ve received from you, I’d love to provide the same.

In peace,
Jesse

March 15, 2020

Life in Quarantine: Week 7

Thank you so much for your interest in my life and experiences in Shanghai! I’m incredibly thankful for all of the messages I’ve received asking how I’m holding up during the coronavirus epidemic. If you haven’t seen my prior six posts, which discuss the current situation in Shanghai and China and how I’ve dealt with it, please check them out.

If you enjoy my blog, 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 or the current situation, don’t hesitate to ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, if you know anyone who needs reassurance that things will get better in the rest of the world as they have in Shanghai and China, please share this with them.

Life in Shanghai

To start this week’s entry, I want to begin by saying that I hope that all of you are doing well. I hope that your families and friends are all healthy and safe. Throughout the course of this past week, the tables have entirely turned. The situation is dramatically better here in China after 2 months of lockdown, while the situation in the US and the rest of the world, Italy in particular, has gotten worse. So, I want to reassure all of you that things will get better, eventually life will return to normal, even if that normal isn’t for a few months. More importantly, as I’ve documented here, in my opinion, the best approach is to turn lemons into lemonade and try to make the best out of what is clearly a difficult and anxiety inducing situation.

Based on my experiences in Shanghai, here are some tips, I recommend:

Social distancing is important. Most importantly avoid large crowds. The reports that crowds under 1000 people are safe are utterly ridiculous. I would attempt to avoid crowds in general. This doesn’t mean you should lock yourself in, rather that you should avoid situations where you know there are large groups of people.
Wash your hands!!! It’s paramount that everyone continue to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds, particularly after you’ve been outside. If possible, you can use hand sanitizer as well.
Continue to eat healthy and exercise. Whether that’s going running or doing exercises in your home, it’s important to maintain healthy practices.
Don’t completely isolate yourselves. For me, many of the highlights of my weeks have been using FaceTime with my family or getting together with one or two friends for coffee. So, even though you should avoid crowds, if you are still healthy, you can definitely get together in small groups (<10).
Don’t read the sensationalist news. Follow sensible news sources and listen to actual trained professionals, not the. current administration.

I hope that these tips are helpful and can alleviate some of the nervousness and anxiety that I know you are feeling. I’m nervous for you all as I was and still remain for myself. I’m happy to offer my support to any of you reading this. If you need to know more about my experience or want to discuss any precautions I’ve taken, please reach out to me. Now that things are improving in China, I’m happy to offer any help and support that I can.

As I’ve said, things are definitely improving here in Shanghai. I continue to be healthy, safe, and happy! I again want to thank all of you who have continued to reach out and ask about how I’m doing. I’m incredibly appreciative of your messages and it comforts me to know that so many of you care about me.

In terms of Shanghai, the situation is greatly improving. In the past week, there have only been imported cases of the coronavirus to Shanghai. These are from people returning from either Italy, the United States, Iran, France, or Spain. China is now far more concerned about imported cases on the coronavirus. Currently, Shanghai has instituted a policy that anyone coming from Italy, the US, Iran, South Korea, Japan, France, Germany and Spain have to spend 14 days in self-quarantine upon arrival to Shanghai. In total there are currently 353 cases in Shanghai. Of those 324 have already recovered. A recovery rate of ~ 92%. For China, the recovery rate is at 83%. So, while I’m sure many of you are nervous about the number of new cases in the US, I believe that the recovery rate should be high outside of China as well.

In terms of my day-to-day life, things are also starting to return to normal. The majority of shops and restaurants are now back open for business. However we still have to. take our temperature when we enter. Additionally, some of the museums and parks are starting to open up again! Although, there are some restrictions being placed on the number of people allowed in at one time. Overall, it’s been great to see Shanghai beginning to revive and revitalize! Additionally, I’m still able to get groceries delivered. Most importantly, I’m able to run again! I went running on Wednesday and with temperatures warming to the 70s this week, I plan to go running at least 2-3 times!

For those of you wondering, SJTU, where I work, remains closed. You currently need to ask for permission to enter the campus. However, there is discussion that by mid April, the university will reopen. In terms of work, this week, we had the DESI (Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument) collaboration meeting on Zoom. Unfortunately for me, the meeting was set up to operate on Pacific Standard Time, so many of the talks were while I was asleep. However, I did listen to some very interesting talks about the cluster science that will be done with DESI. Additionally, I also had a DES clusters telecon. So, there was a lot of late night science on my part. In addition to that I had my now weekly telecons within the Zu group. In terms of research progress, I’m still working on the DES results. However, I’ve also gone back to writing as I’m in the process of revising two of my papers. I’m hoping to have those papers finished up and submitted for publication later this spring.

As I mentioned, things are definitely returning to normal here, which was best highlighted by some of the fun things I did this week. On Friday, a group of my friends from Moishe House got together for a Shabbat dinner. Then on Sunday, I got together with my friend Shimi and we visited the Jing’an Sculpture park. I previously visited the Jigan’an sculpture in the winter (https://astronomerinshanghai.com/uncategorized/vegan-hot-pot-and-the-shanghai-natural-history-museum/), so I was amazed to see the park covered in gorgeous flowers! Special thanks to Shimi for some of these amazing photos!

One of my favorite parts was that in the midst of the flower beds were statues. The ones of the giant bulls reminded me of the children’s story Ferdinand the Bull!

There were also some other very cool statues as well!

There was also beautiful. Cherry blossom trees! So, as you can see, as the impact of the virus is lessening, spring is here in Shanghai.

Additionally, thanks to Shimi, you can. see a ton of photos of me (both with and without a mask)!

We also even saw some cats in the park!

Food in Shanghai

For the first time in Shanghai I got vegan deserts! On Tuesday, Cinnamon Loafers, a pop-up vegan/gluten free bakery that I learned about via the vegans in Shanghai WeChat group was having a sale. So, I got a red velvet brownie, a birthday cake brownie, a rice crispie treat, and 2 zucchini chocolate chip cookies! All Vegan! This made me very happy!

On Friday, I went to an Indian restaurant for Shabbat and had another delicious meal. Unsurprisingly, the Indian food in China is really good!

Then on Sunday, Shimi and I got Falafel! Falafel in Shanghai is surprisingly good!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

As many of you know, this past week was Purim. To celebrate, Kehilat Shanghai did some virtual Zoom activities. Additionally, we’ve continued to have Zoom Shabbat. However, the Shabbat highlight this week was getting to join Temple Sinai (in Saratoga) for their Zoom Friday night Shabbat service (or Saturday morning for me).

Additionally, to celebrate Purim, Moishe House hosted a Purim Party! Special thanks to my friends Hannah Maia and Shimi for organizing a fun party, which also highlighted that life here is returning to normal (and for those of you in the US, it will return. to normal as well). Also, Hannah Maia made delicious raspberry, chocolate, and poppy seed filled hamentaschen!

For those of you wondering, I went as a hippie. Also, if any of you are observant, that is in fact the t-shirt that my brother and I gave out to people who attended our B’nai mitzvah!

Despite a 7th week of semi-self-imposed quarantine, this was an enjoyable, fun, and productive week. Things continue improving here. Hopefully that trend will continue and in a few weeks, that will begin to happen in the US.

I hope that this update about the coronavirus situation in Shanghai and how I am staying positive and dealing with situation is comforting and can provide reassurance that things will get better. Hopefully people will take social distancing seriously and the spread of the coronavirus will slow. I plan to continue working each day on my research from home as SJTU still remains closed. 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! Also, if you need advice for dealing with a more isolated life, don’t hesitate to reach out.

In peace,
Jesse

March 8, 2020

Life in Quarantine: Week 6

Thank you so much for your interest in my life in Shanghai! I’m incredibly thankful for all of the messages I’ve received this past week asking how I’m holding up during the coronavirus epidemic. If you haven’t seen my prior five posts, which discuss the current situation in Shanghai and China, please check them out.

If you enjoy my blog, subscribe to 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 or the current situation, don’t hesitate to ask. 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

To start this week’s entry, I want to emphasize that I remain healthy, safe, and happy here in Shanghai. I also want to thank everyone who has reached out to check in with me either via this blog, e-mail, facebook, or through my parents. Overall the situation is improving here; However, that’s unfortunately not the case everywhere else in the world. So, I hope that all of you are also staying safe and healthy. Hopefully things will begin to improve worldwide soon, just as they have here in China.

In Shanghai, there are now 342 total cases. That’s 5 new cases this week. However, 4 of those cases were from Chinese nationals who returned from Iran. Many people have continued to recover from the virus here. So, of those 342 cases, 314 have recovered, a recovery rate of ~ 92%. As I noted last week, this number will continue to rise both here and abroad in the coming weeks. So, despite there being a few more cases this week, the situation is definitely improving here in Shanghai! Clearly the policies and practices taken by the Shanghai Municipal government have worked well.

In terms of the rest of China, the number of new cases each day has been dwindling. Of the ~80,800 cases, ~57,100 have already recovered. The recovery rate is thus ~71%. However, outside of Hubei province, the recovery rate is higher. So, after about 6-7 weeks here in China, the situation is dramatically improving. However, now, the biggest fear in China is not the spread of the virus among the people already in China, it’s now that people coming from outside of China, particularly Italy, South Korea, and Iran, will bring the virus back to China. To that end, at both international airports in Shanghai, any travelers arriving from those countries are taken to a quarantine zone and then returned home, where they must spend at least 14 days in mandatory self-quarantine. Given the policies in place already, it’s unsurprising that the government has swiftly implemented these additional policies.

While the situation has greatly improved here, unfortunately, the situation is growing worse throughout the world, particularly in Italy, Iran, and South Korea. While the numbers are not nearly as high as in China, the number of new cases continue to grow. Additionally, given that the coronavirus has spread to many parts of the US as well, I implore all you to follow some of the health recommendations I made last week. Most importantly, make sure to wash your hands (for at least 20 seconds) every time you’ve gone outside. Hopefully the situation will improve soon and a cure will be discovered.

In terms of life here in Shanghai, we’ve reached something of a new normal. While it’s not nearly as crowded outside as it was before the outbreak, every time I go outside, I see many people (the majority of which wear masks). Almost all businesses and restaurants are now back up and running (at some capacity). The only difference is that when you enter buildings, a security guard takes your temperature and many places provide hand sanitizer. So, life is definitely returning to Shanghai, albeit somewhat slowly. Hopefully, as spring comes here, life will return to normal. Thankfully, there’s been no food shortages here in Shanghai. I’m still able to get all the groceries that I need to eat healthy delivered to my apartment. This week, I made chickpea walnut burgers and a vegan version of my Mom’s butterscotch brownies (my family’s blondie recipe)!

As I’ve now spent 6 weeks working from home, I’ve found a good work/research routine in my apartment. While I’m probably not quite as efficient every day as I would be in the office, I am more comfortable working in my apartment and am able to make lots of progress. This week, I’ve made excellent progress on my DES research. I’m just running the final redshift evolution analyses now. More importantly, despite my previously noted bug, the majority of results I had detected remain sound and my science and results are robust! This week, I plan to diversify a bit in my work as I start to work on some of my other projects as well. Additionally, I’ve had a bunch of zoom/skype meetings. I attended a DESI telecon as well as our now weekly Zu group meeting. While meeting over zoom/skype/Gchat isn’t ideal, I’m really glad these options exist. While I don’t mind e-mail, sometimes it’s easier to discuss things.

With things returning to new normal in Shanghai, I was able to do a few more fun things this week! Many of my friends who were abroad have since returned to Shanghai! So, on Wednesday, I got dinner with some of my friends, including my group of friends who I’ve been seeing weekly. Then on Friday, our weekly Shabbat Dinner was expanded to include members of the Moishe House community who have returned to Shanghai!

As you can see, there’s a lot of us now back in Shanghai! As I’ve noted here before, when you go so long without seeing people on a frequent basis, it makes these kind of opportunities not only more fun, but also much more special because they provide a return to normalcy.

However, for me, the most important thing that happened this week was that I decided it was finally safe for me to go running! In the last week, I’ve seen a lot of people (both Chinese and ex-pats) on the street running. So, I decided if it was safe for them, it was safe for me. As many of you know, I’m an avid runner and in an ideal world, I run at least once per week. Prior to my run on Saturday, I hadn’t gone running in about 6 weeks, the longest such break in over 2 years. Despite the improvements here in Shanghai, I did take precautions and wore a medical mask while running. I also made sure to avoid people and keep a good distance from others. During my run up to People’s Square, I saw 3-4 other people running around the city.

Thankfully I was moving fast enough that my glasses only fogged up when I was stopped at intersections. While my legs are a little stiff/sore today, that’s a good feeling after not running for so long. Assuming things continue to improve I’ll continue to go running, especially as the temperature warms up.

Also, spring is definitely here in Shanghai!

Food in Shanghai

I had two wonderful meals out with friends this past week. Thankfully, every time I go out, my friends are always willing to accommodate and order lots of vegetarian food! On Wednesday, we went to a Pakistani/Turkish restaurant. This restaurant had some of the most beautifully presented food that I had ever seen. More importantly, though, it was delicious!

While I’d love to tell you what everything was, for the most part, I only remember that I was eating vegetables! However, I will say that my favorite was the lentil dal (lower row, center)! That dish reminded me of the dal makhani from Little India in Saratoga!

On Friday, we returned to Sichuan Citizen for our now weekly Shabbat dinner! Below you can see the full group spread.

Here are some zoomed in images of the vegetarian dishes! As usual, my personal favorite are the sesame noodles! However, the spicy sword (green) beans were also delicious!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

As was the case for the past few weeks, many of the Jewish interactions are done via Zoom. Kehilat Beijing and Kehilat Shanghai cohosted our now weekly zoom Shabbat. However, this week, Moishe House sponsored and hosted our Shabbat dinner! While it’s been wonderful getting dinner with my smaller group of friends, all of which I’ve become much closer with, it was really nice to get together with a larger group and feel like a normal Jewish community! Below you can see some photos of us lighting the candles and saying the blessings.

Special thanks to my friend Shimi for taking the non-food photos that you see here (especially the ones that I’m in). 🙂

Despite a 6th week of semi-self-imposed quarantine, this was an enjoyable and productive week. It was very nice to see so many of my friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen in almost 2 months! Things are definitely improving here, so hopefully that trend will continue.

I hope that this update about the coronavirus situation in Shanghai and how I am staying positive and dealing with situation is comforting. Hopefully the spread of the coronavirus will slow elsewhere as it has here and a cure will soon be discovered. I plan to continue working each day on my research from home. 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

March 1, 2020

Life in Quarantine: Week 5

Thank you so much for following along with my life and adventures in Shanghai! As I’ve said in each of the last few posts, I’m incredibly thankful for all of the messages I’ve received asking how I’m holding up during the coronavirus epidemic. If you haven’t seen my prior four posts, which discuss the current situation in Shanghai and China, please take a look at them.

If you enjoy my blog, 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, please ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, if you know anyone who is concerned about me or the coronavirus situation, please share this blog with them.

Life in Shanghai

To start, I want to emphasize that I remain healthy, safe, and happy here in Shanghai! As I’ve done each of the past few posts, I want to take the time to thank all of you who have reached out to me or to my parents to check in and see how I’m doing. I really appreciate knowing that so many of you are concerned about me and are thinking of me during this difficult experience.

To begin this post, I want to update you all on the current situation in Shanghai. In the past week, there were just 2 new cases of the coronavirus here in Shanghai. The total for the city is 337, with 3 fatalities. Clearly, the policies put in place by the Shanghai municipal government are working and helping to slow (or halt) the spread of the virus. Moreover, of those 337 people, only 44 are still currently infected. Thus, in Shanghai, the recovery rate is currently sitting at about 87%, which is excellent. Each day more people are recovering, so hopefully that number will rise in the coming weeks.

Given these improved numbers, you’re likely wondering whether life is changing in Shanghai. For the most part, it hasn’t changed much. I’m still working from home (as are many others). The lane neighborhood where I live still locks the gate (although it is kept open and unlocked for a few hours each day). Schools remain closed. For elementary, middle, and high schools, this will remain the case until the virus is nearly defeated. However, for SJTU, where I work, the main concern is not the situation in Shanghai, but rather requiring students to travel from all over China to return to Shanghai. One change is that the number of businesses open is rapidly increasing. When I went to get fruit Sunday afternoon, I noticed that many of the smaller restaurants and shops on the street that I live on are now open (they were not earlier this week). So, life is returning to some semblance of normalcy, which is great!

While the situation has dramatically improved in Shanghai, what about the rest of China. In Beijing, there are 413 cases, with 274 recovered and 8 deaths. While I won’t list the numbers for every major city, in total, there are about 80,000 cases in mainland China, and of those ~ 42,000 have recovered. However, if you exclude Wuhan/Hubei province, the recovery rate is at ~ 71%, which is in much better agreement with the numbers seen in Shanghai.

Sadly, the coronavirus outbreak has continued to spread rapidly throughout the world. The most troubling cases appear to be in South Korea (where the number continues to rapidly increase daily), Italy (where the number is rising, but less rapidly), Japan (mostly a result of the Diamond Princess cruise, but interestingly, the number of cases reported each day is small), and Iran. So, while the situation is improving in China, it’s important to remember that this virus is impacting the globe. I also think that it’s important to recognize that the actions taken by the Chinese government, such as essentially quarantining Wuhan, shutting down work, keeping people at home, and putting restrictions of people gathering have worked very well. Sadly, many of these actions would be very difficult to enforce in non-authoritarian countries.

Since I’m sure many of my readers are beginning to be concerned about the coronavirus, here are some tips that I would recommend for the coronavirus. Please note, these are just tips that I follow myself, not a guaranteed way not to get sick.

1. Wash your hands after you’ve gone outside. Make sure to follow the CDC recommendations and wash them thoroughly for ~ 20 seconds.
2. Wear gloves when you are in public spaces. Also, try to avoid touching your face with those gloves when you are outside. This is difficult.
3. Have hand sanitizer and either use that or soap when cleaning your hands. Keep this in your home/office.
4. Consider getting masks. While masks are required/recommended in China. The masks themselves are only somewhat helpful. As I’ve discussed on this blog before, wearing a mask doesn’t guarantee not getting sick. If your able to get masks, I would recommend it. However, outside of possibly on airplanes, you currently do not need to wear masks in the USA. Moreover, it’s more important when outside to just avoid people then it is to wear masks
5. Don’t panic. It’s perfectly okay to be nervous or scared about the situation. I know I am. However, you also shouldn’t do the opposite. So, I strongly recommend not listening to the current President of the US and his rhetoric claiming that everything is fine and the US is doing a great job. While many researchers and scientists around the world (not just in the US) are working at breakneck speed to solve this crisis, a cure is still likely at least a year away. So, there’s no need for false machismo when it comes to your individual safety.

Now back to updating you about the rest of my life. I’ve continued to work from home for now a 5th week. I’m still grateful that I’m able to be productive, but there are times when it’d be more efficient to chat in person, instead of just over zoom. Sharing my screen works, but can sometimes be slow. In terms of research progress, I’ve finally gotten the first figure matched for my Luminosity Function analysis. It’s really nice to finally make a bit of progress on that project. In terms of my Stellar Mass – Halo Mass relation DES work, with the help of my Ph.D. advisor, Prof. Chris Miller, I’ve determined the best step forward based on a comparison between the SDSS and DES photometry. I’m currently in the process of rerunning much of that analysis. However, since I already have all the necessary infrastructure, those results should be done by the time I write my next post! 🙂

My life continues to be consumed by many zoom meetings. The SJTU postdocs chave a daily zoom meeting to chat and discuss recent figures. Additionally on Wednesday the Zu group had another group meeting. I also had an additional telecon with my boss/mentor on Thursday as well as a DESI telecon on Tuesday. So, even though I’m not able to see people, I am able to connect and keep collaborators updated about my progress.

One nice thing about this past week was that on Monday and Tuesday, it was incredibly warm. Almost 80 degrees! So, on both days, I went out (with my mask) for a nice hour long walk. Since it was so warm both days, I treated myself to raspberry sorbet and a tropical fruit smoothie!

Currently, I’m still able to easily get all of the food and groceries I need. It’s incredibly convenient that I’m able to order groceries online. This week I made Moroccan red lentil soup as well as farmesan (vegan parmesan cheese)! So, I have plenty of healthy and delicious food to eat. Additionally, I ordered a jump rope, so I have expanded my exercise routine beyond pushups, crunches and jumping jacks! 🙂

Like last week, I got Shabbat dinner on Friday with my same group of friends! It was really nice to see everyone in person! It’s comforting hearing everyone’s plans and what they are doing. Especially since many of my friends have lived in Shanghai/China far longer than I have. Overall, It’s been a great way to keep my spirits up.

I’m really happy that I have so many friends here who are willing and able to go out and get together! Also, as an additional sign that things are improving, a few more of my friends have either just returned or will be returning next week to Shanghai! So, maybe these weekly dinners will start to grow a bit over the next couple of weeks!

One additional highlight from my walks this week! This was too cute and funny for me not to take a picture of!

Food in Shanghai

For our now weekly dinner, we returned to the same Sichuan restaurant! The food, just like last week was very enjoyable. However, I do hope that as things return to normal, I’ll be able to venture out and explore new vegan/vegetarian restaurants as well, soon!

For this weeks meal, we had vegetarian ma po tofu, eggplant, sesame noodles, potato shreds, and tofu with celery and peppers! I again loved the sesame noodles, but I also really enjoyed the tofu with celery!

Thanks to my friend Heather, I know break the fourth wall. Here’s a photo of me taking the above picture!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

Like last week, this week, we had our now weekly Zoom Shabbat’s. It is really nice seeing and hearing from so many members of Kehilat Shanghai and Kehilat Beijing. Both within my friend group and within the larger Jewish community, it’s been wonderful to see everyone come together and be supportive of one another

Thanks to my friends Heather and Shimi, you can see what it looks like at dinner when everyone is plugged into there phones trying to follow along with the Zoom Shabbat while also being at a restaurant! It is really funny when someone at our table is talking on the Zoom telecon and you hear the words echoed by the telecon! 🙂

Additionally, this week, Moishe House hosted a Zoom Havdalah! So, I got to mark the beginning and end of Shabbat with fellow members of the Jewish community! While I’m grateful that all of these events happen, I’m looking forward to when we can all gather together in person to celebrate Shabbat!

Despite another week of semi-self-imposed quarantine, this was an enjoyable and productive week.

I hope that this update about the coronavirus situation in Shanghai and how I am coping reassures you about my health and safety. I also hope that my advice is helpful and doesn’t cause you any to become worried about your own health and safety. Staying calm and maintaining your own mental health is important as well. Hopefully the spread of the coronavirus will slow and a cure will soon be discovered soon. I plan to continue to work productively on my research this week. 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