Month: September 2020

Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 continues to plague the US, and you are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside and maintaining social distancing practices, I hope that my blog highlights that the world can recover from covid-19 (which is sadly far away in the US). Once things improve, I hope you’ll look forward to small interactions with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find that these interactions will be both meaningful and enjoyable. In Shanghai, life has returned mostly to normal. Since outbreaks may still occur, it’s important that you wear masks and cooperate with social distancing guidelines so that things will improve.

If you find my blog interesting or enjoyable, please subscribe and let me know! To subscribe, enter your name and e-mail on the right side of the page. Once subscribed, you’ll receive an e-mail with each new post. If you have any questions about my life in Shanghai, 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 you, your families, and your friends are doing well and staying safe and healthy. Hopefully you are being smart and continuing to maintain social distancing practices. I know that many of you have been enjoying the end of the warm weather and taking advantage of it to do social distanced get togethers. So, I hope you continue to do so for as long as it’s warm enough. Moreover, as we transition to fall (though it’s still quite warm in Shanghai), I hope that you’re able to find new ways to maintain friendships and social interactions while still being safe and smart.

In terms of the current state of the US, this was a very depressing and troubling week. As a US citizen outside of the US, it’s impossible not to be consumed by these disheartening events. I feel a sense of shame in being American. I’m sure many of you share in my outrage over the decision to not charge any of the police officers who murdered Breonna Taylor. It’s disgusting that we live in a country where police officers are not held accountable for their actions. This was an unjustified murder of an innocent black woman.

Breonna Taylor’s life mattered. Black Lives Matter.

However, it’s clear that in the eyes of the courts that the walls to her neighbor’s home mattered more. Police officers need to earn our respect and trust just like everyone else and must be held accountable for their actions, just like everyone else. Moreover, the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court is another incredibly troubling move. Not only is Mitch McConnell’s rush to a vote on the appointment entirely hypocritical, but the last thing America needs is an ultra-conservative judge who will board up all the glass ceilings that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (may her memory be a blessing) shattered. Lastly, it is terrifying that the current occupant of the White House refuses to commit to accepting the results of the election. The US is not a dictatorship and the fact that he can’t understand that tells you all you need to know about how unfit for office he is.

Based on the recent events in the US, combined with the continued vacuum of moral leadership within the US, I implore all of you to vote. Encourage your friends to vote. Encourage your students to vote. Make sure that you are registered to vote. Even here in Shanghai, I voted! I received my absentee ballot then printed it out, voted for the candidate who believes in moral leadership, is not a racist, trusts science, and can lead our country out of the nightmare that has been the current Presidency. After doing so, I brought my ballot to the US consulate where it will be mailed to the US as part of a diplomatic pouch. So, I beg you. Vote! This is not a choice between the lesser of two evils. This is a vote between Democracy and the Authoritarian Trump regime. I hope you, and America make the right decision.

In terms of covid-19, I remain increasingly concerned about the situation in the US. The politicization of a vaccine and the Trump administration’s insistence on cutting corners to rush a vaccine are incredibly troubling as a scientist. I am grateful that Governor Cuomo (of NY) is taking further precautions on any such vaccine. Moreover, it stuns me that with over 200,000 Americans dead, people are unwilling or unable to acknowledge that this is a fundamental failure on behalf of the US government and current administration. It didn’t have to be this bad. Here in China, the situation is completely under control. All cases are imported cases, which has allowed China to tentatively reopen its borders (on September 28th, but still with a mandatory 14 day quarantine upon arrival). Currently in Shanghai, there are just 41 active (imported) cases. There is just 1 in Beijing. The recovery rate for Shanghai is 95.1% and for China is 94.4%. So, the American people must take responsibility and demand leadership that will address this crisis seriously.

In terms of research, this was another productive week! My DES research is coming along very nicely. We’re aiming to submit the paper to the collaboration by mid-October (a deadline I think we’ll hit 🙂 ). Moreover, I found a bug in my Luminosity Function analysis, which I believe will explain a lot of the weird results that I’d been measuring over the last few weeks. So, hopefully, by next week, I’ll be able to update you all with some new, exciting results! 🙂

In terms of the rest of my academic activities, most of our Colloquiums are on Zoom, which is disappointing. However, we’re still doing AstroCoffee and Group meetings in person. Having those in person activities is really nice and has helped increase the level of interaction and questioning at both meetings!

In addition to work this week, I was able to go for three runs!! It’s still warm, mostly in the mid to upper 70s, so it’s definitely great running weather (though I do miss the crisp fall weather I’m more used to). Throughout my time walking and running around Shanghai, I saw a lot of cool things that I wanted to share with you!

Additionally, I also got a few cool photos of Shanghai at night!

Shanghai is such a beautiful and cool city to live in and explore!

In addition to work and running, I made time for some fun activities! On Thursday, I went to the Unravel storytelling event. Unravel is a show were people tell stories (decided beforehand), based on a theme, which was Sink or Swim. There were stories about people facing life or death experiences, actually learning how to swim, diving headfirst into a career in stand-up comedy, and facing the challenges of leaving your family for a foreign country for the first time. Overall, the stories were really interesting and moving. A lot of them reminded me of some of the shorter stories that are part ofThis American Life (one of my favorite podcasts). It was a lot of fun and I definitely plan to go again next month!

The highlight of my week was on Saturday when my friend Heather and I went to the Veggie World Expo Shanghai! It was at the beautiful Shanghai Exhibition center. Unlike some of the Vegan food festivals I’ve gone to in the US, instead of restaurants and bakeries, this one featured companies providing samples of different products. It’s great to see that there are so many different vegan products being made for Chinese markets! There were some international brands like Gardein (coming to China soon), Oatly, and Just Egg, but most of the companies like Z-Rou, Omnipork, and tons of others are Chinese brands. I got to try a lot of different samples of vegan meat substitutes, some in the form of dumplings and baozi, and others that are nuggets or burgers! Some of these were a little to meaty for my taste, but overall there was a lot of good things! Though I think the tempeh I had was my favorite! Heather and I tried a lot of samples, but we didn’t buy much. However, we did get WeChat contacts and Taobao links for some of our favorites so we can order in the future! We did buy some yummy vegan chocolate and some vegan mooncakes! Mooncakes are a Chinese traditional snack for the mid-Autumn Festival (starts next week). So, I’ll plan to enjoy mine soon (and take photos when I do)!

This was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon! It was a lot of fun trying all the different products and I look forward to going again next year!

Afterwards, Heather I spent the day walking around and exploring different parts of Shanghai (including the area close to the other SJTU campus, where I’m planning to move in October). During our walk, we ran into 3 different people that I knew! Given how big Shanghai is, it always excites me to run into friends while out. It gives me a sense that I’m really building a life and community here in Shanghai!

Food in Shanghai

Heather and I ended up walking around so much that we decided to get dinner at one of my favorite vegan restaurants, Godly!

We enjoyed soft tofu with mushrooms and peas, stir fried gluten with vegetables (the best dish), luffa (a green squash) with edamame, and asparagus with vegetables! So, overall, it was a day filled with a ton of delicious vegan food!

As I’ve highlighted, there are so many different kinds of food here, so if you’re curious about any of it, or if there’s anything you wonder if I’ve tried (that’s vegetarian) let me know!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

I’m writing this blog post prior to Yom Kippur, so I want to take the opportunity to wish all of you who are fasting a safe and easy fast. I hope that you are able to take the opportunity to reflect back on the year and what things you liked and what you can do better to improve upon. I know that to me, this is one of the parts of the High Holy Days that I find most meaningful.

On Friday, I joined some of my friends from Moishe House for Shabbat Dinner at the Orthodox Sephardic Jewish center. I’d been there a few times before, but it was nice to go with friends. It was a very interesting experience. The community is very friendly and welcoming. However, the services were blitzed through (in normal Orthodox style). At one point, I was following the Amidah (the central prayer of Shabbat services), then got lost and a minute later, my friend pointed out that we were 25 pages ahead of where I was. So, overall, it’s not as accessible as the Reform Judaism that I enjoy. However, it was still nice to be part of the greater Jewish community of Shanghai and enjoy a lovely Shabbat meal.

The beginning of this week will be dominated by Yom Kippur. I’m leading the Kehilat Shanghai services (with the assistance of some videos). After that I’ll have a few normal days, followed by the Chinese National Holiday (celebrating China’s founding) and then the mid-Autumn Festival. So, during those Holidays, I’ll be working from home (and hopefully start looking for my new apartment). To all of you who, like me, are celebrating Yom Kippur, I hope that you have an easy fast and a meaningful holiday, even if it is different than what you normally experience.

I hope that you enjoyed seeing the highlights from the Veggie World Expo! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about Shanghai, SJTU, or covid-19, please let me know.

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 continues to plague the US, and you are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside and maintaining social distancing practices, I hope that my blog highlights that the world can recover from covid-19 (which is sadly far away in the US). Once things improve, I hope you’ll look forward to small interactions with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find that these interactions will be both meaningful and enjoyable. In Shanghai, life has returned mostly to normal. Since outbreaks may still occur, it’s important that you wear masks and cooperate with social distancing guidelines so that things will improve.

If you find my blog interesting or enjoyable, please subscribe and let me know! To subscribe, enter your name and e-mail on the right side of the page. Once subscribed, you’ll receive an e-mail with each new post. If you have any questions about my life in Shanghai, 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 update continues to find you, your families, and your friends safe and healthy. Even though I’ll talk about Rosh Hashanah a lot in this entry, I hope that all of you who celebrated had a meaningful holiday, even if it was different from what you normally do. I also hope that all of you involved in education, either as teachers or parents, are finding success in the early part of the school year. For those of you who are doing it virtually, I hope that your more accustomed to the platforms you are using and are discovering new ways to engage with your students. For those of you teaching in person, I hope that you feel safe and that your schools are engaging in proper and adequate testing and safety measures.

I have to start this post with some commentary on recent political news. I’m sure you were all just as devastated as I was to learn of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing on Friday (Saturday morning my time). May her memory be a blessing. We’ve lost a pillar in legal world and perhaps one of, if not the greatest, modern champion for women’s rights . It’s truly a sad day for the US. Unfortunately, the passing of RBG coupled was coupled with both sadness and fear. Recent statements by William Barr, suggesting that protestors should be tried for sedition, our current president’s statements that we need “patriotic” education, and the insistence and total hypocrisy from Senator McConnell (who is his own unique and special brand of evil) that the supreme court justice position be filled immediately regardless of the fact that when Justice Scalia died in February of 2016, he claimed President Obama couldn’t fill the seat because it was an election year, make me truly scared for the future of the United States. We are shifting towards authoritarianism. I implore all of you to vote and to vote against the current occupants of the White House. Moreover, if you are teachers (particularly at the college level), you must insist that your students register to vote and vote! Here in Shanghai, I just received my NY absentee ballot, which I will print out on Monday and figure out how to mail back (it has to be mailed) this week. The only hope for the future of the US is if we come together and remember that we as Americans must be better and move on from this racist, sexist, homophobic, and immoral administration.

If you need any more reasoning to vote against the current administration, look at the covid-19 statistics. As the US crosses 6.7 million cases, with an unthinkable 200,000 people dead, what more reasoning could you need that the response to covid-19 has been mishandled and that the current administration doesn’t care about your safety and health. China and other countries such as New Zealand and South Korea have shown that covid-19 can be contained. Currently, in Shanghai, there are just 49 cases (all imported). Beijing has no cases. The recovery rate for Shanghai is 94.2%, while the recovery rate for China as a whole is 94.4%. So, here in Shanghai, while we remain cognizant of the fear of covid-19, we are able to return to our normal lives. We only need to wear masks on subways, buses, and taxis. Masks work and combined with contact tracing reduce the spread of covid-19.

In terms of Astronomy research, this was another productive week! I made great progress on my DES Stellar Mass-Halo Mass relation research! I’ve completed all the observational analysis for this study and am in the process of updating/finalizing the text. There’s just one last part we want to do with simulated data that I’m working on. However, this paper should be submitted to the DES collaboration by the beginning of October!!! 🙂 Very excited about that. I also spent a bit of time working on my Luminosity Function analysis. We’re still trying to figure out some of the nuances of the background measurements, but I think we’re making some interesting findings in the process! 🙂

For those of you curious about my work week, I’m going to be going in to the office 3x per week! I take the bus to campus, which allows me to read (either for fun or work), which is much nicer than just listening to podcasts on a crowded metro.

Above, you can see the temperature scanner that I have to walk through (that is me) when I enter campus. It’s pretty cool! Next to it is a photo of the campus seal. In general, it’s been nice to be back for a few days each week and has allowed me to more easily collaborate with my colleagues here!

In terms of weather, it is starting to cool down. Unlike in Saratoga, where cool down means the 30s (at night), in Shanghai, cool down means highs in the 70s with lows in the 60s. Which is great and definitely more comfortable! Unfortunately it rained almost every day this week, but I did get to go for a nice 5 mile run on Sunday!

Here are some cool photos from around Shanghai this week!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

This week, my weekend was dominated by Rosh Hashanah celebrations! L’Shana Tovah to all who celebrate! In Shanghai, we’re fortunate that we were able to celebrate together in person! Unfortunately, covid-19 prevented us from bringing in a rabbi to lead our services. So, we had to improvise. Thanks to the help of Rabbi Art Nemitoff, a Rabbi from Kansas City who has visited Shanghai many times in the past, we had access to videos he prepared for his own congregation (B’nai Jehuda) that included the key prayers, torah readings, shofar service and sermons. However, because we were celebrating in person, we decided to do additional prayers, songs, and activities, which I had the pleasure of leading! While this was a lot of work, and not something I ever thought I’d be doing or really want to have to do again, under such a unique set of circumstances it was a meaningful experience and thoroughly appreciated by the Kehilat Shanghai community.

On Friday night, we had about 100 people join our community for the Erev (evening) Rosh Hashanah services, including the new consulate general of Israel (who was very friendly and excited to join our community. I got to speak with him meet afterwards). Many of my friends from both the Kehilat and Moishe House communities came (you can see some of us enjoying dinner together thanks to photos from Hannah Maia), so it was wonderful to bring in the new year with many of my friends!

On Saturday, about 30 community members returned for more in person services, including our in person Shofar service, which you can see here! The kids were particularly excited to hear the shofar blast (though I’m not sure what the people staying at the hotel that we did our services in thought was happening :))!

Following the Rosh Hashanah services, I attended Moishe House’s Tashlich (which is a service that centers around the idea of casting off your sins from the past year) and lunch! Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate, so we weren’t able to go down to West Bund Park. Instead, we used the beautiful pond in the compound that the Moishe House is in. This was a nice way to reflect on my first year in China and what I want to do differently and improve on for next year.

This was my first Rosh Hashanah experience in Shanghai. I left for Shanghai in between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur last year (My 1 year China anniversary is in ~ 2 weeks). So, I experienced a lot of mixed emotions. Although it was lovely to be surrounded by my friends and community members here, it was bittersweet to not be home in Saratoga joining my family for services. I really missed spending Rosh Hashanah with my family. However, I’m lucky to have the fond memories of the always wonderful Temple Sinai services (evening, first and second days), the Sweets Party my Mom hosts filled with all the amazing food that she makes, and of course my Mom’s fantastic rugelach (made with my great-grandmothers recipe) filled with my Mom’s amazing raspberry jam. 🙂

Next week will be somewhat dominated by preparations for Yom Kippur, which begins on Sunday evening. I’m not sure if I’ll post my blog before or after Yom Kippur yet though. Even with Yom Kippur on the horizon, there will be a few more fun activities as well as what is hopefully another very productive week! I hope that all of you who are observing Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur find the days in between meaningful and are able to reflect on 5780 as we transition to 5781.

I hope that you enjoyed seeing and learning about my first Rosh Hashanah experience in Shanghai! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about Shanghai, SJTU, or covid-19, please let me know.

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 continues to plague the US, and you all are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside and maintaining social distancing practices, I hope that my blog highlights that there will be a recovery from covid-19 (which is sadly far away in the US). Once things improve, I hope you’ll look forward to small interactions with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find that these interactions will be highlights for you as well. In Shanghai, life has returned mostly to normal. Since outbreaks may still occur, it’s important that we wear masks and cooperate with social distancing guidelines so that things will improve.

If you find my blog interesting or enjoyable, 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 update finds all of you safe and healthy! While I know covid-19 continues to dominate a lot of your thoughts and concerns, I did want to check in with all of my readers on the West Coast, particularly Oregon, Washington, and California and make sure that you and your families are staying safe during this devastating forest fire season. Also, since for many of you (or your children), the school year is now back in session, I’m curious how that’s going? Are you teaching from home or going into the office? If you’re going into the office, what kind of safety protocols are in place? I’ll discuss my own situation in a little bit. Regardless, I hope that you and your families are continuing to stay safe and healthy, wear masks, and take social distancing practices seriously.

The chaotic start of the school year in the US, as opposed to the relatively calm start of the school year here in China has really further highlighted the difference in our current situations. Since at this point, I’m unable to come home (and then return to China), I grow increasingly concerned about the lack of tangible improvement for the US as a whole. So, I really implore all of you to stay safe and wear masks (it’s not that hard). Like last week, the situation in China is mostly recovered. Shanghai has just 45 cases, all imported, (Beijing has 0) and Shanghai has a recovery rate of 94.5%, while the recovery rate for China is 94.3%. So, as another political reminder, make sure to vote for people who take covid-19 seriously and are willing to listen to scientists, not their bank accounts, for solutions.

Before discussing Astronomy, I wanted to let you know that I returned to the SJTU campus for the first time since January!!!! 🙂 Thankfully, my desk was still there, and it was loaded with goodies from the Dragon Boat festival that my colleagues had left out for me! I was given a bunch of yummy dried fruit, some snacks (which sadly all had meat), and some walnut and rapeseed oils! It was a very generous gift from the department and university! Overall, it was really nice to be back in the office. I got to see a lot of the post-docs I haven’t seen in months. I got to meet in person with Ying, my research supervisor as well as have our group meeting in person! Also, AstroCoffee will be in person next week.

I’m sure you’re all wondering what precautions the SJTU is taking. To enter the campus, you have your temperature checked and must have a campus ID. Then to actually enter the building, you need a green QR code (separate from the Shanghai Green QR code). I’ve also been using the bus to commute between the SJTU Minhang (where I work) and Xujiahui (closer to where I live) campuses. Everyone wears a mask on the bus. Additionally, the campus is closed for students, who are not allowed to leave the campus. Though I’m not entirely sure how this is enforced and plant to ask some of the students.

Regardless of all the safety concerns, it was lovely to step foot on the beautiful SJTU campus again! Even though I’m only going to go in 3x per week from now on.

In terms of actual Astronomy, this was a very productive week! I had an awesome meeting with my Ph.D. supervisor Chris and have reignited my DES SMHM relation research, finally making some strong progress! We’re aiming to submit our paper to the collaboration by the beginning of October. I also spent some time working on my Luminosity Function analysis and have a new avenue to explore for a uniform background. Lastly, we’re actually starting our science analysis for the DES-ACT (the high redshift data), which is exciting! So, there should be a lot of fun and exciting results to share with you all later this year!

Although this was an exhausting and productive week (I’m now getting up at 5:45 to take the 7:30 bus to campus), I still made time for some fun! On Wednesday, I got together with my friends to play Improv games! My personal favorite are story telling games! We did one where each person is telling the same story from the perspective of a different character, which was awesome and led to some hilarious interpretations! We also did one where we had 2 person teams and had to speak one word at a time alternating who speaks, which was challenging! Overall it was another fun night of laughs!

Another highlight of my weekend was that I finally got to go running again!!! It’s finally cooled down to the low-80s, so I’m able to go running comfortably, which I love! Although I’m a lot out of practice and need to get a lot more runs in, it felt amazing to stretch my legs, clear my mind, and run! Plus, I no longer have to wear a mask! Most people only wear masks on the subway and in taxis. Below you can see the beautiful park I ran through!

Another highlight of my weekend was on Sunday I hung out with my friend Heather! We went for lunch (which I’ll show later) and then went for a long walk (~4-5 miles) down the West Bund, which runs along the Huangpu River! It was great to catch up with Heather before her semester at NYU Shanghai starts! I got to see this different side of Shanghai and Heather pointed out some of the places that she’s visited. I’ve seen parts of the West Bund and the Shanghai skyline, but it was really cool to get to walk along it and then end up on Nanjing Road (kind of like Broadway + Times Square only bigger)! It’s definitely a spot I’ll come back to and would make for a great run!

In addition to the gorgeous skyline, there were tons of beautiful flowers along the path!

We also ended our walk by stopping by the famous Peace Hotel, originally built by the Sassoon family, one of the oldest most prominent families Jewish families that lived in Shanghai until the 1940/50s.

In addition to the fun adventures this weekend, there were also a few things I wanted to show you! First, on the bus ride each morning, I pass an amusement park! Though I’m unsure if it’s still opened.

Plus, while it may not be safe enough to go to the movies in the US, it is here in China. Tenet is the movie to see! I hope I’ll be able to see it in theaters (I haven’t seen a movie in theaters in China yet).

Additionally, while I was walking home on Saturday night, I saw a bunch of rentable bikes being loaded into trucks to be moved strategically around the city! These kind of bikes are super popular in Shanghai. Almost everyone uses them (I have) and they’re very inexpensive (less than $1 for a 15-20 minute ride). Sadly, they don’t provide helmets, which is not ideal.

Food in Shanghai

It’s been a while since I’ve eaten out, but on Sunday, I got a delicious lunch with Heather! We went to a new vegetarian restaurant near my apartment!

We got a mushroom, fruit and quinoa salad, rice with mushrooms, stuffed mushroom caps, and a tofu hot pot! Everything was very fresh and delicious!

For some other culinary highlights of the week, I cooked with Chinese Eggplant (I made Szechuan tofu and eggplant)! These long Chinese eggplants have no seeds and are not bitter like the normal eggplants I get in the US. I also tried a red bean popsicle, which was quite interesting!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

On Saturday evening, Moishe House hosted a Yoga Havdalah! My friend Ely is a trained Yoga instructor and led our class, on the roof of the building the Moishe House is in. We focused mostly on our hips and pelvis. I’m definitely going to do it again, even though I’m not very flexible!

After doing Yoga, we did the Havdalah rituals and blessings up on the roof to usher in the week! It was great fun to practice Yoga and enjoy the Havdalah with my friends!

Next week (Friday night) is Rosh Hashanah! While I’m sure this year will be different for almost all of you, I want to wish all of you who are celebrating L’Shana Tova! Happy New Year! I hope that this is a good year for all of you. I’m helping to coordinate and lead Kehilat Shanghai’s services, which I’ll tell you all about next week!

Overall, this was a productive and enjoyable week! A great balance between work and friends! Next week will likely be dominated by Rosh Hashanah (my first in Shanghai!) as the Kehilat Shanghai board works to finalize everything. So, I’m sure there will be lots to share with you all.

I hope that you enjoyed seeing all of the the West Bund and Shanghai’s skyline! I hope that you enjoy exploring Shanghai with me! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about Shanghai, SJTU, or covid-19, please let me know.

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 continues to plague the US, and you all are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside and maintaining social distancing practices, I hope that my blog highlights that there will be a recovery from covid-19 (which is sadly far away in the US). Once things improve, I hope you’ll look forward to small interactions with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find that these interactions will be highlights for you as well. In Shanghai, life has returned to a new normal. Since outbreaks may still occur, it’s important that we wear masks and cooperate with social distancing guidelines so that things will improve.

If you find my blog interesting or enjoyable, 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 update finds you all staying safe and healthy while enjoying your labor day holiday. For a China fact, Labor Day is celebrated here, but on May 1st as part of International Workers Day. Since Labor Day officially marks the end of the summer, I hope that all of you have been able to have an enjoyable summer even while staying safe, wearing masks, and following social distance protocols. As I’ve mentioned before, I know that many of you work in Academia. Whether you’re a parent, a teacher, a graduate student, a post-doc, or a professor, I really hope that you feel comfortable about what your school/institution has implemented. I hope that all of you are able to work safely (and remotely if possible) this upcoming year.

Since the news was a little bit calmer this week, I want to start this post by briefly updating you about the status of Covid-19 in Shanghai and China. China is almost entirely recovered. There are still imported cases, but there have been no recent outbreaks. Masks are only required on public transportation, such as the Metro and in taxis. Moreover, schools are open for in person learning. The only difference is that universities (like SJTU, where I work), will have closed campuses this semester. All students are required to remain on campus for the entire semester, they cannot leave to go to other parts of the city. While this type of policy may be strict, it will help halt potential outbreaks. Currently, there are 46 active cases in Shanghai (0 in Beijing). The recovery rate is up to 94.2%. For China as a whole the recovery rate is 94.3%. So, Shanghai is now typical of China. As the US is now well over 6 million cases, I want to again emphasize the importance of following social distancing guidelines and electing officials that will listen to scientists, not just listen to their bank accounts, the stock market, and the economy.

In terms of Astronomy, this was a very slow week. I spent some time working to get a better understanding of the high redshift DES-ACT data that I just started a project on. However, for the other projects that I’m working on, I have reached phases where I actively need to have discussions with my collaborators. Unfortunately, the end of summer/beginning of the semester/labor day holiday, made it difficult for those meetings to occur. So, I spent much of the week reading papers. Hopefully this upcoming week I can continue making further research progress.

Before I share the highlights of my trip to Moganshan (which was great!), I want to briefly talk about or latest Moishe House discussion on Racism and Social Justice (we’ve expanded beyond just BLM). This past week’s discussion focused on the Model Minority Myth (which plagues both the Jewish and Asian American community) as well as the racism that impacts and exists within the Asian and Asian American Communities. Additionally, we talked a lot about the idea of affirmative action as well as the relationship between the Black and Asian community and how a lot of the tension that exists has historically been related to systemic racist business practices and laws.

Since I gave a presentation on it, for those of you unfamiliar, the model minority myth is the idea that there are certain minority communities that have reached high levels of either socio-economic or academic success. These models are then touted to emphasize that the struggles of other minorities are not due to the systemic injustices that exist in the US (and elsewhere) but rather the faults of the minorities. Model minorities are often invisible because they’re doing what they’re supposed to until they become too good at which leads them to become hypervisible, which can lead to further discrimination or identification as n other. This behavior is shown by both the ebbs and flows of anti-Semitism and Anti-Asian sentiment. Furthermore, model minorities are often used to perpetuate negative behavior toward Blacks and Latinos. These stereotypes persist all throughout the world and are often highlighted in movies and tv. While not all the stereotypes are bad (on their own), in my opinion, the problem arises from how these myths perpetuate the idea of being an other and an outsider. Moreover, these myths remove any sort of differences among members of the community and add undo pressure to members of those communities.

Moganshan!

After being in Shanghai for 11 months, on Friday, I finally left the city! I went to Moganshan with 8 of my friends (and one dog, Lucky!). Since many of you are likely unfamiliar with cities in China other than Shanghai and Beijing, I’ll start by describing Moganshan. Moganshan is a park/mountain with a small village nearby. It’s been described as the Hamptons of Shanghai, since it serves as a vacation area for many of the people who live in Shanghai. While I don’t think that’s the best comparison, Moganshan is not nearly as exclusive or as fancy as the Hamptons, it was still lovely! Moganshan is about a 3 hour drive from Shanghai. We rented an awesome AirBNB and spent Friday, Saturday, and the first half of Sunday enjoying time away from the city and in nature!

We had a fun drive out to Moganshan! Though, as you can see, Lucky spent most of the trip roaming around the car, which made it extra fun! We then stopped at a really nice Chinese rest stop. The Chinese rest stops were similar to the one’s in New York, with lots of restaurants, and even some fresh fruit vendors! I got rice noodles with veggies!

Here you can see our fantastic AirBNB!

After arriving in Moganshan, we went on an amazing three hour hike! It brought back fond memories of the hikes I’d do with Emmet and my Dad in the North Woods or the Adirondacks! Lucky led the way and I was often close behind. 🙂

These are some of the beautiful photos from the first part of our hike! After being in the city for so long, it was so much fun to hike through the stunning bamboo forest! This was the China I remember from watching all the panda videos (and The Great Panda Adventure) growing up and have been eager to see and experience! The first part of our hike was super intense and very steep. Once we reached the main trail, we saw a sign that warned foreigners not to go the way we did. 🙂

One thing that I was really impressed by was that there were trash and recycling bins set up along the paths. Sadly, I ended up picking up some trash and recycling along the way, but it was nice that some effort is being made to prevent littering.

Next we saw an amazing and majestic waterfall!

Near the waterfall, there was a pagoda built into the mountain and a really cool statue of a swordsmith forging a sword!

We continued our ascent up (on some stairs this time–stairs are commonly carved/built into the mountains) until we reached the castle, seen in the distance. The castle was built by the Naked Company (which is similar to WeWork) and has super expensive villas that you can rent out. We didn’t go in, but it was a nice landmark for our hike!

You can also see how gorgeous Moganshan is as further highlighted by the colors on the way down!

Overall, the hike was an amazing start to the wonderful vacation!

After our hike, we spent some time cooking and had a lovely Shabbat dinner! Although not shown, we had homemade pizzas (Hannah Maia was able to get pizza dough from one of the restaurants here), delicious Challah (made by Hannah Maia), as well as pasta with homemade tomato sauce (thanks to Heather) and watermelon salad!

After dinner, like we did on Saturday, we played games and enjoyed the chocolate tahini cookies I made! We played Anomia, Secret Hitler and tons of the games on jackbox.tv. After a long day of hiking it was wonderful to relax in the evening with games and friends!

On Saturday, we started the day with a workout. 🙂 Hannah Maia and Daniel are F45 (Function 45, a global gym also in Shanghai) fanatics and led us all on an intense HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout! I was beat afterwards (though, I really enjoyed it and it’s definitely something I will do more of), but it was a great start to the day!

The best way to relax after a tiring workout was to use the pool! Which was great to have, but only went up to my knee.

We followed up pool time and a workout with a wonderful brunch! We enjoyed french toast (and vegan french toast), chick pea salad, tofu salad, fruit salad, and shakshuka.

In the afternoon, some of us went down to explore Moganshan town. It felt a little Disneyfied, where the town has become a lot more tourist friendly (both to Chinese and Western tourists). However, it was still fun to explore and see different part of China!

There were so many cool sculptures and works of art to see in the town, which I loved! My favorite was the Totoro selling ice cream!!

After exploring the downtown area, we had a delicious barbecue dinner prepared by Daniel and Hannah Maia! The vegan highlights were tofu kebabs, roasted potatoes, and Indian spiced cauliflower!

One of the highlights of the trip was getting to play with Lucky! She really helped me relax and made everyone enjoy our company a little bit more (while also making us go very fast on our hike). 🙂

On Sunday, we had a relaxing morning! Hannah Maia and I took Lucky for a walk, which allowed me to take some more photos of the area!

The cabin built into the bamboo reminded both Hannah Maia and me of the Adirondacks!

We ended our trip on a high note with one last delicious brunch! The highlights included cinnamon buns, chive pancakes (like scallion pancakes), and fruit compote!

One other fun part of the trip was seeing all the different wildlife! From large beetles on the hike, to birds living in the rocks, to frogs in the swimming pool, it was fun to see such different wildlife than what I regularly see in Shanghai.

Overall Moganshan was a wonderful trip filled with great friends, delicious food, and beautiful nature! I’m so grateful to my friends Hannah Maia and Daniel for organizing and including me on this trip! I also have to thank my friends for sharing some of their own amazing photos (some included here) with me! I’m so glad that I finally was able to start exploring other parts of China! While I love living in Shanghai, I’m already excited for my next adventure outside of Shanghai!

This was a wonderful, relaxing, and fun week! The trip to Moganshan was exactly what I needed to reset and get ready for the new school year! I’ll be finally back in the office next week, so I’ll let you all know what it’s like to no longer be working from home full time and what safety precautions SJTU is implementing.

I hope that you enjoyed seeing all of the beauty in Moganshan as well as some of the fun that I had! I hope that this update gives you a greater appreciation for China’s natural beauty! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about Shanghai, Moganshan, or covid-19, please let me know.

In peace,
Jesse