Month: June 2020

Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 keeps many of you sheltered in place or working at home, I hope that my blog illustrates that once the world recovers from this outbreak, things will improve. You should all treasure the small daily interactions. In Shanghai, life has returned to a new normal. I emphasize that the recovery timeline for Shanghai is not applicable everywhere and that new outbreaks may occur. However, we are all in this together and if we wear masks and cooperate with social distancing guidelines things will improve.

If you find my blog inspiring or helpful, 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 how I’ve dealt with covid-19 or my life in Shanghai, please ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, please share this blog with anyone who needs reassurance that eventually life will return to a semblance of normalcy.

Life in Shanghai

As you’re reading this, I hope that all of you as well as your family and friends are remaining safe and healthy. I really hope that all of you are still taking covid-19 seriously. Despite the relatively small number of cases in Shanghai, many of us here are still wearing masks. So, I implore you all to continue to be cautious and vigilant. Please stay safe and do your best to remain healthy.

I know I began last week’s post by emphasizing my growing concern about the covid-19 situation in the US; however, I feel it’s necessary to do it again. While it’s comforting to hear from many of my family and friends that they continue to wear masks and socially distance, this past week has really done nothing to help assuage my concerns about the US as a whole. It seems like every day I awaken to reports of the number of cases hitting record highs all throughout the country. The continued disregard by the current administration to do anything to alleviate the situation or even attempt to flatten the curve is incredibly frustrating and also rather humiliating. I often talk with my ex-pat friends here in Shanghai about the situation in the US and there’s a general shame that many of us feel to be American. The sheer level of disregard for public safety is staggering. Having worn masks every time I’ve gone outside since January (even when I run), I don’t understand the insistence on the public to not wear masks. This is not a political issue. So, I implore you please don’t be selfish. Wear a mask or a bandana over your face. It shows that you think it’s important to keep your neighbors healthy and that you care. While I know many of you are already doing so, please continue to encourage your friends and family do wear masks every time they are out in public. This is the only effective way to slow the spread of covid-19.

For the most part, the situation here in China remains in check. While there have been additional cases in Beijing, all reported information that I’ve seen suggests that that secondary outbreak is relatively under control and that the number of new cases in continuing to decline. In total, there are 311 cases in Beijing. I’m lucky, that outbreak has not spread at all to Shanghai, where there are just 25 cases, all of which have been imported. The recovery rate in Shanghai is 95.5% and the recovery rate in China as a whole is 93.9%. So, the situation remains stable here in China. However, there remains a fear of a secondary outbreak and travelers returning from Beijing are required to do a 14 day self-quarantine.

In terms of research, this week was fairly productive. I had a very productive and insightful meeting with my Ph.D. supervisor/mentor Prof. Chris Miller and spent a lot of time this week improving and strengthening some of the analysis in our SMHM relation paper for the Dark Energy Survey. I think we’re both trying to make this paper as airtight as possible, which hopefully will help reduce any difficulties in the referee process. Additionally, I’ve continued to be somewhat stumped by the inconsistencies between my measurement of the Luminosity Function and prior measurements, so I’m sure I’ll be spending a lot of time on that in the near future. Along with a lot of time spent running computer code (which is really what most of my research is), we had our normal Zoom AstroCoffee, Zu Group meetings, and SJTU Astronomy colloquiums.

Much to my personal uncomfortability, it’s continued to be hot, humid, and rainy here in Shanghai. I think I’ve reached the point where the humidity bothers me a lot more than the heat. I can run in heat, but it’s so uncomfortable to run when it’s excessively humid (which is frequent). Despite that I took advantage of a few breaks in the weather and got in 2 runs this week. While I’d love to run more, it’s difficult when the weather is working against you.

Due to the overcast weather, I didn’t get as many great photos of flowers, however, I did see a lot of cute cats this week!

Additionally, I saw some very interesting and beautiful sculptures, paintings, statues, and buildings as I walked around Shanghai (Yes, even in the heat, I still try to walk most places).

As I mentioned in last week’s post. This week was the Dragon Boat Festival Holiday. Unfortunately, most of the large events and actual Dragon Boat Races in Shanghai were cancelled due to fears of large crowds due to covid-19. So, unfortunately, I didn’t do anything special to mark the holiday. So, I know I have a few things to look forward to for next year!

Overall, this was a much more low key and relaxing week, compared to last week. On Tuesday, I attended a lecture on rural education in China with my friends Heather and Shimi. The talk was given by an educator who has built an international network using the Chinese version of Zoom to teach students in the most rural regions of China. A lot of the topics covered via the online education are related to the arts, which are generally not as well taught be rural school teachers (since they lack the training). The talk focused on some of the difficulties of online teaching as well as how it’s been successful in enhancing students educational opportunities, since it’s often difficult to convince teachers from Shanghai or Beijing to move to rural China. It was very inspiring to hear how teachers from around the world use the internet to enhance the academic experiences of those students. Given the proliferation of online teaching due to covid-19, I wouldn’t be surprised if this kind of thing becomes more common.

On Saturday, my friends Kate and Ilan hosted a lunch party to show friends their new apartment. Given that it was a rainy, hot, and humid day, it was very relaxing to enjoy good food, company, and conversations ranging from covid-19 to Mrs. Maisel! I made my now famous sticky sesame cauliflower, which was again a huge hit!

One thing that I really like about living in Shanghai is how internationally diverse my friends are. Maybe it’s because ex-pats are all drawn together, but it’s really interesting learning about the cultures and experiences of my friends. I have friends from China, the US, Israel, Ukraine, France, Mexico, Argentina, the UK and many more. I feel like it’s been a great way for me to grow as a person and become more cognizant of the world I live in.

Food in Shanghai

I cooked most of my meals this week, but I still had some interesting food to share with you. In terms of my own cooking, I made orange tofu, roasted broccoli, vegan mozzarella cheese, roasted chickpeas, tahini sauce, and orange-pineapple popsicles! So, plenty of good stuff to eat this upcoming week.

On Friday, the Moishe House community did a Taco Shabbat! I got mapo tofu and buddha’s delight tacos! I find the Chinese-Mexican fusion very interesting!

On Sunday, I got breakfast with one of my friends and had a delicious chia seed porridge with pepitas, coconut, dragon fruit, and blueberries!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

As I just mentioned, on Friday, Moishe House hosted a Taco Shabbat! In contrast to last week’s very moving Solidarity Shabbat, it was nice to have a relaxing and fun Shabbat spent with friends. While we didn’t do a Shabbat service, we still gathered to say the Shabbat blessings and enjoy some delicious challah baked by my friend Hannah Maia. I’m really happy to be part of the Moishe House community here. It’s been a great source of fun and friendship during my time in Shanghai, and particularly since covid-19 began.

This was a calm and more low-key week. This upcoming week should allow me to focus a lot of research. I’m also going to be presenting some of my research at the Zoom Galaxy Cluster Seminar for the Harvard Center for Astrophysics on Tuesday (thanks to Emmet for setting it up :)), so that’s exciting!

I hope that this update about what a new normal week looks like here in Shanghai reminds you that eventually things can and will resemble what you’re used to. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the current covid-19 situation, please let me know. If you need someone to talk to about how to stay positive and productive while you shelter in place, please reach out. I want to help support you and assure all of you in any way that I can.

In peace,
Jesse

Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 keeps many of you sheltered in place or working at home, I hope that my blog illustrates that once the world recovers from this outbreak, things will improve. You should all treasure the small daily interactions. In Shanghai, life has returned to a new normal. I emphasize that the recovery timeline for Shanghai is not applicable everywhere and that new outbreaks can still occur. However, we are all in this together and if we wear masks and cooperate with social distancing guidelines things will improve.

If you find my blog inspiring or helpful, 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 how I’ve dealt with covid-19 or my life in Shanghai, please ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, please share this blog with anyone who needs reassurance that eventually life will return to a semblance of normalcy.

Life in Shanghai

I hope that all of you are staying safe and healthy while continuing to wear masks and socially distance. Before beginning, I do want to acknowledge that I’ve chosen to drop the Life in Quarantine title this week. I’ve realized that even though I’m still working from home, I’m lucky enough to be in a situation where covid-19, while still a major concern, is no longer a dominant aspect of my life. Despite that, I still will continue to update you on the situation here and share my thoughts/opinions on the situation in the US.

Over the last week, I’ve grown increasingly concerned about the covid-19 situation in the US. It’s undeniably clear to me that as a whole, the US has given up on trying to halt or slow the spread of the virus. While some states are following CDC guidelines and using science to make their decisions about reopening, it’s disheartening to see how cases are spiking in Florida, Arizona, California, and so many other places. This is even more troubling given China’s swift and effective reaction to the spiking of cases in Beijing (more on that later). So, I implore all of you to continue to work from home (if possible), to always wear masks when you go outside to public places, and to maintain social distancing protocols. If the Federal government is too cowardly to admit that this situation won’t magically go away and attempt to deal with a response, then I hope each of you will act smartly instead.

While last week definitely served as a reminder that the covid-19 situation can change rapidly, this week offered much more stability. There have continued to be more cases in Beijing, but so far this appears to be a localized outbreak. Reports I’m reading suggest that this outbreak is under control, with fewer cases being reported each day. In response, the Chinese government effectively closed parts of Beijing and are now requiring 14 days of self-quarantine for all people who visit Beijing (as well as a few other parts of China). So, I’m not sure how much traveling I’ll be able to do this summer. In total, there are 228 active cases in Beijing. In Shanghai, there are just 23 (all imported). The recovery rate in Shanghai is 95.7%, while for China as a whole, the rate is 94.1%. I will reiterate that while these numbers are promising, the situation in Beijing has raised a lot of fear of a second wave here, so, I don’t see travel restrictions being eased in the near future.

In terms of research, this was a fairly productive week. I spent a lot of time working on my research related to the Luminosity Function of cluster member galaxies. While I’ve made some progress in matching the desired figures, there still a few sizeable differences I’m working to resolve. Additionally, I’ve continued to make progress on finalizing my DES paper on the Stellar Mass – Halo Mass Relation. My goal is to get that submitted next month. Other than my own research, we had another successful week of AstroCoffee. I also had more Zoom telecons, one for the Zu Group and one late night meeting for DES.

As I mentioned last week, it’s Plum rain season. Thankfully, it wasn’t quite as hot this week (though there were a few brutal days). However, we’ve had lots of rain/thunderstorms/and high humidity. Despite all that, I was able to make time for three runs this week! Even with the weather, there’s still lots of Beauty in Shanghai (both flowers and a cute cat)!

This was a jam packed weekend. While the main event of my week was the Solidarity Shabbat (more on that later), I also had a fun Saturday! My friend Heather and I made white Peach jam! As most of you know, my Mom makes tons of Jam all summer! Since I haven’t been able to go home since arriving in October (and I won’t be returning home anytime soon), I’ve been craving my Mom’s homemade jam. So, Heather and I decided to try to make it ourselves!

It’s been a while since I’ve gone through the whole jam making process with my Mom. Thankfully she shared her recipe as well as a few insightful tips and tricks to help make delicious jam! As you can see, the process went really well! Surprisingly, getting jars in China was actually really easy. The primary difficulty was finding pectin (and making sure it was the right thing). This was a really fun way to spend the afternoon! Plus, we ended up with beautifully colored and tasty jam! I can’t wait to start enjoying it and to make more jam later this summer!

Following our jam making adventure. Heather, Shimi, and I attended Matter is the Minimum, as storytelling fundraiser organized by members of the Black community in Shanghai (including Erica Switzer, who led the Solidarity Shabbat discussion) in support of Campaign Zero. This was a very moving and thought provoking event. 7 storytellers shared with the audience their own experiences through either stories, songs, or dramatic performance about dealing with systemic racism and racism by police in the US as well as racism that they’ve faced in China. Each performance was powerful. While I don’t think I can adequately describe each story, my primary takeaway was how pervasive systemic racism is in all parts of the US and how often white people downplay the mistreatment of Black people. I’ll discuss more about these issues later, but I think it’s important that each of us continues be be anti-racist and a vocal and supportive ally to the Black community.

Food in Shanghai

This week, I had two delicious meals out. On Friday, our Solidarity Shabbat was catered by a Black owned caterer/bakery, Suga’hai. I enjoyed a delicious meal of okra and cauliflower gumbo, red bean and rice balls, blackened tofu, and a delicious oreo brownie!

On Saturday, I went to lunch at one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai!

I had a delicious meal of vegetable wontons; shredded zucchini, carrots, and mushrooms; tofu with bamboo and mushrooms; edamame with a green vegetable I can’t remember; and tomato with broccoli. The tofu, wontons, and carrot/zucchini/mushroom salad were my favorites!

Additionally, I did a lot of cooking this week. On Saturday night, I made a sweet and sour tempeh stir-fry with Heather for dinner. I also made a Mediterranean Quinoa salad as well as Pra Ram Tofu (tofu with peanut sauce). So, lots of good eating this week!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

This week was the joint Moishe House/Kehilat Shanghai Solidarity Shabbat that I co-organized with my friend Hannah Maia. The two of us put a lot of time, effort, and energy into the event, so I’m pleased to report that it was very successful and meaningful evening. The event began with a service that I led. To keep the service in line with the theme of discussing how to be better allies and ending systemic racism, I incorporated different readings into the service, which added an additional and necessary weight to the evening. If you’re interested, I uploaded the Supplement below.

Following the service, we had a moving and interesting discussion, led by Erica Switzer, a secondary English and Drama teacher from Chicago, who is also a story teller and comedian. Erica’s leadership and guidance really carried through the evening to make the event as impactful as it was. Our discussion began by talking about why people are uncomfortable talking about racism (whether it’s shame, embarrassment, or feeling it’s not your place to bring it up). We then discussed what we as a community believed are the underlying root causes of systemic racism in 2020 (including economic inequality, which traces to slavery and scapegoating/fear of the other). Our discussion ended by talking about what it means to be an ally. As part of this, we heard from some members of the Black community who joined us and shared ways that we can be better allies. The primary takeaways for me is that it’s important not to be just a social media social justice warrior. We need to do more than post a black square on Facebook and Instagram. Whenever possible we need to support Black owned businesses and Black students. We also must listen when Black people explain what the problems are and not write them off as complaining.

This event was very well attended! The organized discussion led to many lively and interesting smaller discussions. Overall, I felt that this was an incredibly important event. I was honored to have helped organize it. This event raised a few hundred dollars that will be donated to the Campaign Zero and to Jews for Racial and Economic Justice.

I know that I’ve spent a lot of time in the last few weeks posting about the systemic racism and injustice that exists in the US. I hope that you’ve used these posts as a springboard to have your own discussions. I want to let you know that this won’t be the last time that I’ll be posting about these issues. I’m helping to organize a discussion series at Moishe House about racism, racism in the Jewish community, and what we can do to be anti-racist and end systemic racism.

In addition to the Shabbat on Friday night, as a change of pace and lighter event, I went to Moishe House’s bagel brunch on Sunday! I made vegan cashew cream cheese and my peach jam! Both were a hit. After a weekend filled with heavy and impactful discussions, it was nice to relax with friends on a Sunday afternoon.

Before concluding this post, I want to take the time to wish my Dad, and all the other Fathers reading this a Happy Father’s Day! As I said when I wrote on Mother’s day, it’s been very difficult being so far away from my parents for such a long time (and the prospect of not seeing them soon makes it more difficult). However, I want to thank my Dad for being such a wonderful, loving, and supportive Father. Whether it’s talking about different readings for Shabbat services, helping me to plan the Passover Seder, checking in on how my research is going, or just chatting about what mediocre TV we’ve been watching, I’m so thankful that we’re so close. I love you so much. Thank you so much for being the best Dad I could ask for.

This was a really eventful week! This upcoming week is the traditional Dragon Boat Festival. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if they’re will actually be Dragon boat racing (due to covid-19 concerns), but if there is, I’ll try to see it. Next week should be a bit more relaxing. However, I’m sure I’ll have plenty of interesting stories to share with you.

I hope that this update about my life and the covid-19 situation in Shanghai is both enjoyable and impactful. I hope that my actions taken to have a dialogue about systemic racism here in Shanghai remind you all that wherever you are, you can do something to improve the situation. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the current covid-19 situation, please let me know. If you need someone to talk to about how to stay positive and productive while you shelter in place, please reach out. I want to help support you and assure all of you in any way that I can.

In peace,
Jesse

Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 keeps many of you sheltered in place or working at home, I hope my blog continues to highlight that once the world recovers from this outbreak, things will improve. You should all treasure the small daily interactions. In Shanghai, life has returned to a new normal. I emphasize that the recovery timeline for Shanghai is not applicable everywhere. However, we are all in this together and if we wear masks and cooperate with social distancing guidelines things will improve.

If you find my blog inspiring or helpful, 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 how I’ve dealt with covid-19 or my life in Shanghai, please ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, please share this blog with anyone who needs reassurance that eventually life will return to a semblance of normalcy.

Life in Shanghai

I hope that all of you reading this are staying safe and healthy. Before diving into covid-19 and my life in Shanghai, I want to again take some time to talk about what’s happening in the US and emphasize again that Black Lives Matter. First, thank you all for sharing your thoughts and insights about the recent protests in the US and for your reactions to my words that Black Lives Matter. I remain encouraged to hear that many of you are participating in protests (I wish I had that option) and hopeful that this will lead to some tangible change. While I haven’t been able to get out and protest, I’ve spent a lot of time this week reading different think pieces about how to be a better ally and anti-rascist. My friend, Hannah Maia, and I are co-leading a joint Moishe House/Kehilat Shanghai Solidarity Shabbat on Juneteenth (June 19), so I’ve been doing a lot of learning about what the Jewish community must do to be more inclusive to the Black members of the Jewish community as well as to the Black community at large. While I don’t have all the answers, I know that I’ll continue to keep reading and listening and try to support the Black community (both here in Shanghai and back home) in any way that I can.

While I don’t usually recommend podcasts, I do want to make a few recommendations (as a side note these are sports related, but recent episodes discuss the current situation). First, the Locked on Sports podcast network (run by Utah Jazz play-by-play announcer David Locke, who I know from multiple conversations at Jazz v. Pistons games) organized a Black Lives Matter panel (90 minutes) run by 8 of the network’s Black hosts, in which each member shared their stories and discussed what it’s like to be Black in America. Hearing the similarities in each experience really highlighted how pervasive the systematic racism that exists in the US is. Additionally, I think everyone should listen to Bomani Jones’s podcast, “The Right Time.” Bomani is one of my favorite ESPN personalities and has recently been providing both eloquent and brutally honest insights into the situation in the US and why it’s different from 4 years ago. While I know there are plenty of others that I haven’t listened to, these are some that I found very moving.

In terms of the covid-19 situation, I am becoming increasingly concerned about the situation in the USA. It appears that many states have not implemented adequate reopening policies. Since we are now ~ 2 weeks out from Memorial Day, it is unsurprising that we are seeing cases again rise since many people did not adequately or properly socially distance or wear masks. Given the recent protests (which I believe are important and needed) I fear that numbers will continue to spike. The incompetent response by the Federal government is callous and it is clear that they have chosen to ignore the public health risk to our country. So, I encourage all of you to please continue to wear masks! Continue washing your hands. Continue to Socially Distance! While I know it’s hard when it’s hot outside to wear a mask, it’s still doable. It was 95 (felt like 108) yesterday and I still wore my mask outside. So, please remain cautious.

Unfortunately, I do not have good news to share about the situation in China. I’m sure by now some of you have seen the reports out of Beijing that there was another sizeable outbreak of covid-19 cases, this time of domestic cases. From what I’ve ascertained, there appears to be an outbreak associated with another food market in Beijing, this time associated with imported salmon. As of June 13th, there were 45 additional cases. This is concerning because prior, Beijing had almost no cases. Furthermore, due to these cases, Beijing (as a city) has once again tightened the restrictions and many schools have closed. I’ll keep you all updated about whether this spreads to Shanghai. Unfortunately, in Shanghai, there have also been a number of recent imported cases, primarily from Pakistan (though it’s unclear to me who is coming from Pakistan). As of June 14th, there are 18 cases in Shanghai, which places the recovery rate at 96.4% (still very good). There are 44 cases in Beijing. For China as a whole, the recovery rate currently still sits at 94.3%. However, due to the recent outbreak in Beijing, there is renewed and continued fear of a second wave coming to China.

This was a mildly productive research week. Part of the reason I wasn’t as productive was because I spent a lot of time reading articles and talking with my friends about the Black Lives Matter movement and how to be anti-racist. In terms of research, I spent most of my time reading papers and working on my Luminosity Function research. I’m still trying to disentangle some of the differences between my measurement and those from a previously measured work. In addition, we had another week of Zoom Astrocoffee as well as my now normal Zoom meetings. While I’m still hoping to start going to the office on a semi-regular basis in July, I’ll let you all know if the covid-19 situation changes that.

I also had some exciting work news to share. I was awarded a research fellowship from the Shanghai Municipal Government! This Fellowship will serve as additional funding/support for my research for the next two years! I was thrilled to learn I received this when Ying, my research supervisor, announced it in the group meeting! While it’s not entirely clear to me what the judging criteria were, I know that this fellowship is Merit based, so it’s nice to be rewarded for my hard work. For those of you who are curious, applying was easy, since I really didn’t have to do much because most of the application was in Chinese and thankfully the department secretary was able to help with that. 🙂

In addition to my research this week, I had the opportunity to talk to my Mom’s friend Lisa Cohen’s 9th grade History Class at the Heschel School in NYC. The students had learned about China in their class and I got the opportunity to share with them some of my experiences here. Many of the students were interested in hearing about how China’s handled covid-19 and what the response has been like, what the surveillance and internet monitoring situation is like, and what it’s like to be a Jew in China. I had a fantastic time talking to the students. They had so many really interesting questions! I was very impressed. This is definitely something I would be interested in doing again in the future. So, if you know me and are teaching about life in China and would like to share my perspective with your students, let me know!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Chinese weather patterns, it is now Plum Rain season. This is a 3-4 week period in June/beginning of July where Shanghai gets tons of rain and thunderstorms (about 25% of it’s yearly rain). So, unsurprisingly, this weekend it was oppressively hot. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the temperatures all reached above 90 degrees, with high humidity. For comparison, my Dad thinks the weather is quite reminiscent of Washington D.C. Needless to say, I spent a lot of this weekend in my apartment, but each time I went outside, I was incredibly glad to return to enjoy some of the honeydew sorbet and watermelon popsicles that I had to cool off with!

Despite the heat, I still went for two runs (although those were on days when it was much cooler) and even went for a few walks (which in hindsight were probably not the smartest thing to do). Even with the uncomfortably warm temperatures, Shanghai is still beautiful!

Shanghai’s beauty isn’t just limited to it’s flowers!

Food in Shanghai

While I ate most of my meals at home this week, I did have one meal out on Saturday night, for Hannah Maia’s birthday! I had an interesting (albeit kind of weird) dish of Tofu, Cheese, and Honey bruschetta that I thought I’d share. It was kind of like a tofu and cream cheese mousse, which while good, wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

Aside from that I did a lot more cooking this week. I made sticky sesame cauliflower and black bean salsa, as well as vegan parmesan and vegan mozzerella cheese! So, it’ll be another week of yummy homemade food for me!

Even though this week was quieter as a result of the oppressive heat (fingers crossed it actually cools off to the 70s/80s this week like it says it will), this was another enjoyable week. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finally nail what’s causing the inconsistencies in my Luminosity Function measurement and move on to the actual science questions for that project as well! Additionally, I’ll be finalizing the plans for the Solidarity Shabbat that Hannah Maia and I are co-leading. I’m really proud to be helping co-lead this event. I think it’s really important that our community is showing that we care. We’ll be having a service, which I’ll lead, that will incorporate some readings in support of justice and equal rights, as well as a group discussion during dinner. I look forward to sharing the details of our Solidarity Shabbat with all of you next week.

I hope that this update about my life and the covid-19 situation in Shanghai reminds you that we have to remain vigilant. Even when the situation improves, there can still be set backs. This upcoming week should be productive while also thought provoking (because of the Shabbat). If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the current covid-19 situation, please let me know. If you need someone to talk to about how to stay positive and productive while you shelter in place, please reach out. I want to help support you and assure all of you in any way that I can.

In peace,
Jesse

Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 keeps many of you sheltered in place or working at home, I hope this blog highlights that once the world recovers from this outbreak, things will improve. You should all treasure the small daily interactions. In Shanghai, life has returned to a new normal. I emphasize that the recovery timeline for Shanghai is not applicable everywhere. However, we are all in this together and if we cooperate with social distancing guidelines things will improve.

If you find my blog inspiring or helpful, 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 how I’ve dealt with covid-19 or my life in Shanghai, please ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, please share this blog with anyone who needs reassurance that eventually life will return to a semblance of normalcy.

Life in Shanghai

I hope that this latest entry continues to find all of you safe and healthy. While I usually begin each post talking about the covid-19 situation, the current unrest in the US, sparked by the senseless murder of George Floyd, has made me change this. I’m sure many of you are similarly troubled by what is the latest in a series of events highlighting the racial inequalities that exist in the US. Living in Shanghai, I feel very much like a spectator being so far from home. When I gathered with many of my ex-pat and European friends over the past week, we’ve found ourselves troubled and disturbed by these recent events. While I know that there is not a lot I can do to help, I do want to use this platform to share my beliefs. It is unconscionable that in 2020 we still live in a world where black and brown people are not treated equally by both laws and law enforcement officers. It’s not too much to ask for fair and equal treatment by police officers. It’s not fair that I as a white runner don’t have to worry about my safety and whether it’s not clear that I’m a good person as I run in my tights/shorts and sleeveless t-shirts even in Shanghai, while Ahmaud Arbery, and other black men are unable to run or walk around neighborhoods without fear that they will be viewed as a threat, attacked, arrested, or murdered. While some of you may say that there are good cops in your home town, I was particularly struck by the incident in Buffalo, NY, the city where my Mother grew up, where I still have family, and where I would visit with my family to see my grandparents twice a year. While I don’t have answers for what would improve the situation. All I can emphasize is that it’s important that we listen and it’s important that we acknowledge that Black Lives Matter.

If you’re still reading this, then I thank you for listening to my voice. I know I’m going to have to take time to reflect on these issues and also begin to learn how race permeates aspects of my life here in Shanghai. Please take the time to think about what you can do to improve the racial inequities that exist in the US and elsewhere. To transition, I do want to say that despite the protests dominating the news, I still remain incredible concerned about the situation in the US. Particularly, given the proliferation of public protests, which appear to be nesting grounds for spreading of covid-19. So, I implore all of you to continue to be vigilant. If you go to protests, wear masks (and gloves). When you go outside, wear masks. Remember to wash your hands. If you’re able, continue to work from home. Despite how the US is trying to pre-maturely reopen, the virus is still devastating the country and I believe it’s paramount to continue to take precautions.

As I’ve noted before, Shanghai has returned to a new normal. There are still temperature checks and masks worn. However, as the days go by, there are now fewer restrictions on the number of people in public spaces and the number of people wearing masks is decreasing (though the majority still do). I’ve been told that even the youngest children have now been sent back to school (which ends in July). SJTU, where I work, like many national Universities is still closed. While some of you may be wondering why, I believe that this is due to the number of students who would be coming from outside of Shanghai. Despite there being few cases in China, this kind of travel could help spread the virus.

Overall, the statistics in China have continued to improve. All of the new cases this week were imported cases of people returning to China (mostly students returning from abroad). There are just 6 remaining cases in Shanghai and 2 in Beijing. The recovery rate in Shanghai sits at 98.1% and for China as a whole, that number is 94.4%. Both numbers highlight that the restrictive actions taken by the Chinese government were successful in limiting the spread of the virus. Hopefully, recovery rates will continue to rise around the world.

This was another fairly productive research week. I spent most of my research time working on my Luminosity Function project. I’ve been able to actually measure the luminosity function for the first time! Although, I’m still not getting my values to match the previously published results, so I’ll be spending time this week investigating that. Additionally, I got to present my research on the spectroscopic completeness of cluster members for DESI, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument, for the first time, which was cool! In addition, we’ve continued to do AstroCoffee via Zoom, which has been a great way to connect the students and postdocs (and a few faculty) since a lot of us are spread out. In terms of working in the office. The current plan is that once the semester ends (end of June), and Prof. Ying Zu, my research supervisor, is able to better plan his schedule, I’ll start coming to the office a few times per week.

Based on the photos I’ve shared, I think we all agree that the city is beautiful and its beauty is only enhanced by all the flowers. Despite the heat and humidity, I remain impressed by all the amazing flowers. Many are in little gardens on the corners of streets. So, it’s not as though Shanghai is full of parks, but I love that little pockets of green space exist.

Despite the heat, humidity, and increasingly more common thunderstorms, I still went for three runs this week. While I’m not sure if I still need to wear a mask when I run, I still do, mostly to take precautions and also because I still do when I go for walks.

I also visited Fuxing Park, the park near my apartment, for the first time since January. While the park has been opened, it has had restrictive hours. However, on Saturday, I was able to go! As you can see, there are tons of beautiful flowers and natural scenery just minutes from where I live! For comparison, for those of you in Saratoga Springs, Fuxing park is probably a similar size to Congress Park.

In addition to the natural beauty, there were also a few other man-made highlights!

I also saw the cat that lives in the women’s clothing store in Xintiandi again. 🙂 I think it’s pretty clear that this cat lives in the store and isn’t just sneaking inside.

In addition to my work and all the walking/running that I did this week, I still made some time for a fun activity. On Tuesday, Kehilat Shanghai and Moishe House joined forces to host a Jewish trivia night! As some of you know I really enjoy Trivia. Unfortunately, my team didn’t win (I think that we could have benefited from some questions covering the topics I’m best at: Astronomy, Physics, Sports, Comic Books, …), but it was still a lot of fun. Hopefully we’ll do it again sometime!

Afterwards, I biked back to Xintiandi with Heather, Shimi, and one of the other Kehilat Shanghai members. While I generally don’t bike, (I don’t like biking without a helmet and I don’t always know where I’m going), I’ll occasionally do it with groups of people, since they can help with directions. Although, the lack of bikes for tall people means I do a lot of pumping.

Food in Shanghai

Most of my meals this week were eaten at home, so I did lots of cooking. Since it’s been so hot, I made some more frozen deserts. I made watermelon popsicles and a very green honeydew sorbet! Additionally, I did a lot of other cooking this week. I made black bean burgers, roasted cauliflower, vegan mozzerella cheese, chickpea tahini salad, and tahini oatmeal cookies. So, like usual this will be another week of great eating.

I did have one meal out this week. Tuesday’s Trivia night was hosted at Tacolicious, which does somewhat of a Chinese-Mexican fusion for their tacos. I got the Buddhist delight taco, which was roasted vegetables and seitan in a taco. While I’ve never seen Chinese-Mexican fusion before, overall, I really enjoyed it.

This was another enjoyable week. Although I chose to have a quieter week, I still took advantage of a few opportunities to see friends and to explore the beautiful city that I now call home.

I hope that this update about my life and the covid-19 situation in Shanghai gives you optimism that things will improve wherever you are! This upcoming week should be another normal week. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the current covid-19 situation, please let me know. If you need someone to talk to about how to stay positive and productive while you shelter in place, please reach out. I want to help support you and assure all of you in any way that I can.

In peace,
Jesse