Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my life and adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 persists throughout the US and around the world, and you are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside, avoiding large gatherings, and social distancing, I hope that you are all staying safe and healthy and that my blog highlights what the world can look like once the recovery begins. Once things improve, I hope you enjoy small gatherings with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find these interactions meaningful and enjoyable as I have.

If you have fun following 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 my life in Shanghai, please ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, feel free to share this blog with anyone else who may be interested in my adventures!

Life in Shanghai

I hope that this latest post finds all of you, your family, and your friends continuing to stay safe and healthy. As the vaccine roll out continues slowly, please remember (even if you’ve been vaccinated) to wear a mask, wash your hands, and continue to follow social distancing guidelines. While I’m sure that the combination of covid-19 social distancing and cold weather have likely made it more difficult for you all to do fun things, I hope that you’re all able to do some things that bring you joy, whether it’s reading a new book, binge watching the latest Netflix series (I finally watched the Queen’s Gambit, it was great), or going for walks and runs.

While it is promising to hear that more vaccines are being developed and that the vaccine roll out has already begun, I still remain quite concerned about the situation in the US. The US has over 26 million cases, almost 25% of the global cases. I’m happy that the Biden administration is emphasizing the importance of tackling covid-19 head on (as opposed to hoping it will magically go away) and putting in mask mandates in federal buildings. However, I’m fearful that it may already be too late and that it will take a lot to more to undo the damage done by the Trump administration. So, I’m curious, for those of you in the US, are more people wearing masks now?

In terms of the situation in China, the situation seems to have gotten back under control. As I mentioned last week, in Shanghai, there was a minor outbreak (< 20 cases). However, as a result a few neighborhoods were locked down and thousands of people were contact traced and tested. I find the level of contact tracing to be very comforting given how easy the virus can spread. There are still many active cases, particularly in Northern China (north of Beijing), but the spread appears to have slowed greatly. Overall, in Shanghai, there are 125 cases (17 are local cases, the rest are imported, mostly Chinese nationals returning from abroad) and the recovery rate is 92.2%. In Beijing, there are 50 active cases and the recovery rate is 94.3%. For China as a whole, there are currently just ~2600 cases (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) and the recovery rate is 92.63%. So, you can see that there are strong benefits of contact tracing. However, despite the small number of cases, the government remains particularly vigilant with the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday.

On thing I didn’t mention last week was that I had to be tested for covid-19. As you all know, I went to Harbin around New Years. Shortly after we returned (~ 1 week) there were cases in the Heilongjiang Province (where Harbin is) and later some other cases in Harbin. This resulted in the Snow and Ice festivals being shut down. With the local cases in Shanghai last week, SJTU asked me to be tested, just to be safe. First, you may be wondering, how did SJTU know I went to Harbin. Well, all students/staff are required to tell the department any time they leave Shanghai (this is a virus precaution). So, they were already well aware of my trip (plus the department secretaries and my research supervisor, Ying, all saw my WeChat post about my trip). Thankfully, it’s rather easy to get a covid-19 test in Shanghai (the city is also upping its capacity in anticipation of travel for Chinese New year). Thanks to help from Hannah Maia, I was able to schedule an appointment at a clinic (where English was spoken), booked entirely through WeChat text messaging. On Monday morning, I got the throat and nose test. Then, on Wednesday, I thankfully got that my test came back negative. I do want to note that because of the influx of people getting tested prior to Chinese New Year, the test results took longer than normal. So, overall, this was just a precaution. However, I’m glad I now know how to do this, in case it’s needed in the future.

As I just noted, since I needed to get a covid-19 test, I was unable to go to the office this past week. Combined with the Chinese New Year vacation, I won’t actually be going to the office for a while (the bus schedule is quite different now and few people are actually on campus). So, I’ll be working mostly from home for February. Despite that, I was able to be productive. I’ve continued re-running my Dark Energy Survey Stellar Mass-Halo Mass relation analysis to address the referee’s comments. So far, all of my results have remained consistent, which is great! Additionally, I’ve started working on my higher redshift intra-cluster light measurements as well. I’m also starting a new part of my Luminosity Function analysis and will be attempting to generate my own mock galaxy catalog for the first time (this is a skill set that Ying thinks would be very good for me to add to my arsenal).

One benefit of working from home, was that I got to go running 5 times this week! It’s also warm here (mid-50s or warmer), so it’s nice to go running a lot and wear shorts! 🙂 Below, you can see some of the cool Chinese New Years decorations (as well as some other things) that I saw around Shanghai this week. And yes, those are oranges growing outside!

The main highlight of my week was on Friday, when I had my friends Hannah Maia, Kate, and Ilan over to my apartment for Shabbat Dinner! Kate and Ilan also brought their friendly and fluffy dog, Pina (my favorite animal in Shanghai)! 🙂 This was the first time I’ve had a dinner party in my new apartment! I really liked how the space worked. 🙂 So, hopefully this is the first of many such fun gatherings in 2021!

To help celebrate Shabbat, Hannah Maia and I made vegan challah for everyone to enjoy!

We had a fantastic spread for all of us to enjoy with the Challahs. I made homemade vegan almond feta cheese, West African Peanut soup, and crispy cauliflower with sticky sesame sauce, along with Jam squares (my Mom’s signature cookie) for desert, using my homemade pear and strawberry jam! Additionally, Kate and Ilan brought vegan tacos, which were made from hibiscus flowers. We even had authentic Mexican tortilla made from nopales (Ilan is Mexican). One nice benefit was that to make the hibiscus “meat”, you have to soak the hibiscus flower, which resulted in a delicious tea that we all got to enjoy!

If you’re interested in any of the recipes that I made, let me know!

As you can see below, we weren’t the only ones who had a great time! Pina also enjoyed exploring my apartment!

Along with delicious food, it was so nice having my friends over to hang out! It was great catching up with everyone, talking about TV (Kate, Ilan, and I all watch Prodigal Son), listening to music, and relaxing. I look forward to having everyone (and maybe even a few more friends) over again soon!

Food in Shanghai

In addition to my own culinary adventures, on Saturday, I had another fun meal with friends. I got lunch with Heather, Shimi, and Yael. We went to a middle eastern restaurant, where I got to enjoy a Falafel Pizza! This was new to me, and I felt like I should share it with all of you! 🙂 It was great catching up with them and chatting about politics, the covid-19 situation in China and around the world, as well as different places that we’ve all visited around the world.

Overall, this was a much calmer week (though there was a little stress with having to be tested for covid-19). Hopefully this upcoming week will be quite productive, though I’m sure there will be some fun activities to share with everyone as well.

I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my week and seeing the food that I made. If you have any questions about life in Shanghai, please let me know!

In peace,
Jesse

P.S. Here are the answers to my trivia questions!

TRIVIA

Introductory Astronomy

1). At the Center of the MW is Sagitarius A*, which is a what?

— Super Massive Black Hole

2). These two dwarf galaxies, seen in the Southern Hemisphere, are the Milky Way’s nearest neighbors

— The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds

3). In ~ 4 billion years, the Milky Way will merge with this other massive nearby galaxy?

— Andromeda

4). When the sun dies in ~ 5 billion years, it will explode as a Planetary nebulae. However, the core will remain as this type of star?

— White Dwarf

5). To the nearest 1 billion years, how old is the Universe?

— 13.8 Billion Years

6). In the MW, the hottest type of stars are what color?

— Blue

7). How long does it take light to travel from the sun to the earth?

— 8 minutes

8). Which phase of the moon is in between a waxing and waning gibbous?

— Full Moon

9). Which Astronomer used the earliest telescopes to discover that Jupiter has moons?

— Galileo

10). What is most of the Universe made up of?
A. Dark Matter
B. Dark Energy
C. Normal (Baryonic) Matter

City Statistics

Choose the city that describes the prompt.

1). Which was the last city to host either the summer or Winter Olympics?
A – Beijing
B – Tokyo
C – Sochi
D – Rio de Janeiro

2). Which city has the largest metropolitan area population?
A – Tokyo
B – Shanghai
C – Mexico City
D – Delhi

3). Which city has the highest elevation?
A- Denver
B- Mexico City
C- Addis Ababa
D- Nairobi

4). Which city has the most top 200 Universities?
A – London
B- Paris
C – Berlin
D – New York

5). Which Capital City is farthest North?
A – Helsinki
B – Oslo
C – Moscow
D – Talinn

6). Which city has the tallest building?
A – Dubai
B- Shanghai
C- Taipei
D- New York City

7). Which city has the most skyscrapers?
A- Shenzhen
B- New York City
C- Hong Kong
D- Shanghai

8). Which city has the highest percentage of public green space?
A- Moscow
B- Singapore
C-Sydney
D-Vienna

9). Which city has the most Michelin starred restaurants?
A- Tokyo
B- Kyoto
C- Osaka
D- Paris

10). Which US city has the most professional major league (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) sports teams?
A). Salt Lake City
B). Buffalo
C). Kansas City
D). Tampa Bay

Statues and Sculptures

1). Much to the disappointment of Trump, there are only 4 presidents on Mount Rushmore, name them.

— George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt

2). While not Michaelangelo’s most famous biblically inspired sculpture, this sculpture, located in the Church of San Pietro in Rome depicts this biblical figure with horns of light emanating from his head.

— Moses

3). Located in Xi’an, the Terracotta warriors were sculptures depicting the armies of Xin She Huang. Who was he?

— The First Emperor of china

4). Though now in New York, the Statue of Liberty was originally supposed to be in this location?

— The Suez Canal

5). Standing tall in Brazil, Christ the Redeemer is located in what city?

— Rio de Janeiro

6). Located in Fuxing park (in Shanghai), is a statue of these two communist thinkers?

— Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

7). In Burbank, California, there is now a statue of this superhero?

— Batman

8). Located in Copenhagen is a bronze statue of this fictional character created by Hans Christian Andersen?

— The Little Mermaid

9). Recently, in Japan, headlines were made when a moveable full size version of a robot/machine from what anime franchise was displayed?

— Gundam

10). Although best known for his sculpture the Thinker, one of August Rodin’s other well known sculptures, which incorporates the thinker, depicts the opening scene of Dante’s Inferno. Name this sculpture.

— The Gates of Hell, La Porte de l’Enfer

Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my life and adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 persists throughout the US, and you are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside, avoiding large gatherings, and social distancing, I hope that you are all staying safe and healthy and that my blog highlights what the world can look like after a recovery from covid-19 begins. Once things improve, I hope you enjoy small gatherings with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find these interactions meaningful and enjoyable.

If you have fun following 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 my life in Shanghai, please ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, feel free to share this blog with anyone else who may be interested in my adventures!

Life in Shanghai

I hope that this latest entry finds all of you and your family and friends safe and healthy. Following the inauguration of President Biden and Vice-President Harris, I hope that many of you feel hope and also somewhat less stressed due to having mature and responsible leadership. Additionally, with now having an administration that recognizes the seriousness of covid-19, I hope that all of you will continue to take it seriously and stay safe.

To begin this entry, I want to talk about the inauguration. Though I didn’t stay up to watch it, I did watch many of the speeches from the event. Personally, I found President Biden’s speech to be calming and reassuring (something that has been sorely lacking the past four years). I was most impressed by Amanda Gorman’s incredible poem (definitely watch it if you haven’t). My primary takeaway was hope. While I recognize that there is a lot that America as a country and a people need to fix, I feel that having an administration that is willing to acknowledge these problems (racial inequality, social justice, economic inequality, police violence) and not fan the flames of white supremacy will help move our country in the right direction. I hope that many of you feel some belief that with the Biden-Harris administration able to safely and peacefully assume leadership that we are on a path towards a better tomorrow.

I also want to reflect on how the inauguration was reacted to in China. Most of my friends here are very liberal, so many of us were celebrating the inauguration by sharing photos on Facebook and WeChat. However, I also spoke with my colleagues about it (a lot of them went to grad school in the US). Many were happy that America seems to have stable leadership again and expressed optimism that many the US-China tensions will lessen and maybe the trade war will end. Even my Chinese dentist said that she was happy with the new administration. However, there is a clear sense that America can no longer treat China as lesser (as evidenced by the results of the trade war). Moreover, reading news articles here, it is clear that China is happier with the new administration partially because of the volatility and scapegoating of the Trump administration. If you are unaware, many members of the Trump administration were banned from both entering China and having business relations in China on the day of President Biden’s inauguration.

To switch gears back to covid-19, this was a mildly concerning week. There continue to be new cases of covid-19 in Hebei (up north) near Beijing. These cases are believed to have come from contaminated frozen food products shipped in from abroad. Much of that region remains on lockdown (the snow and ice festivals in Harbin were closed) and people are being advised not to travel for Chinese New Year. Moreover, there have even been 9 local cases of covid-19 in Shanghai, though the origin remains unclear. Thankfully these cases aren’t in the neighborhood that I live in, but this has forced the city to become very vigilant and many cities (including Shanghai) are requiring quarantines and a covid-19 test before entering the city. While this is worrisome, the neighborhoods where the infected people live have been locked down and the residents have been tested as a result of extensive contact tracing. While this may seem extreme, it is comforting how seriously the city is taking covid-19. In terms of statistics, Shanghai currently has 111 cases with a recovery rate of 92.8%. Beijing has 51 cases with a recovery rate of 94.5% and China as a whole has a recovery rate of 92.4%. It’s important to note that even when the virus under control, because vaccines are not yet widespread, it’s still possible for outbreaks to pop up. So, please remain vigilant and follow social distancing practices. Also, in response to this, I’ll be wearing a mask when I go out (and gloves) as well as carrying hand sanitizer. Additionally, many large events have been postponed, though smaller gatherings are okay.

In terms of Astronomy, this was a productive week. I’ve spent most of my week working on making my edits and starting some of the additional analysis (based on referee suggestions) for my Dark Energy Survey Stellar Mass – Halo Mass Relation Evolution paper. Hopefully, I’ll be able to get most of the analysis done this week. Additionally, I’ve spent a lot of time working on the mock Luminosity function and I’ve now successfully measured the different versions of the Luminosity Function, though we’re still interpreting the results. So, even though the university is on break, there is a lot of really interesting Astronomy that I’m working on!

This was another warm week! I got to go for two runs with my new sneakers (it’s really hard to get size 12.5 shoes here)! I’m excited to break them in more this upcoming week. 🙂 Here’s some of what I’ve seen around the city. You can start to see the Chinese New Year’s decorations popping up around town!

This was a very fun and social week for me.

On Monday, Hannah Maia, Clem, and I organized another anti-racism discussion to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We had a fantastic discussion focusing on topics related to Dr. King’s legacy, whether the current social justice movements need a unifying figure, as well as our thoughts and reactions regarding the recent domestic terrorism in D.C., and our hopes for the new Biden-Harris administration. Mostly, it was wonderful to gather and discuss some of these topics in an open environment with friends.

As part of the event, we all selected some of Dr. King’s many quotes that we found powerful. Prior to this, I wasn’t aware how much Dr. King spoke about topics related to science and socialism. However, that only made me respect and value his opinion more. So, I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes with you.

“Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values. The two are not rivals.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On Tuesday, Kehilat Shanghai and Moishe House hosted another fantastic Trivia night! I wrote three rounds of questions (shared at the end)! We had 30 people come, our best turnout yet! Overall, it was a great night of fun questions, though my Astronomy questions may have been a bit too hard!

The highlight of this week was on Sunday, when Hannah Maia, Cathie (who went to Harbin with us), and I gathered to make tons of jam! We made four batches! Two batches of dongbei pear jam (from northern China) and two batches of strawberry (from Shanghai — likely a greenhouse)! This was Cathie’s first time making jam, so it was a lot of fun to introduce her to the wonderful world of jam making!

As you can see, we had some delicious looking fruit! Interestingly, the high quality strawberries are individually packaged, quite different from what we get in the US!

We then turned this delicious fruit into some fantastic jam!

After making all this amazing jam (and making a little bit of a mess in my kitchen), we filled 58 jars with delicious homemade jam! We’re all planning to give some of it away as Chinese New Year’s presents! Hence, why the entry is called Chinese New Year Jam and why we made so much! 🙂 Don’t worry though, I’ll still have plenty for my PB&J sandwiches!

As you can see, we had a fantastic afternoon and made some delicious jam! Making so much jam at once brought back such fond memories of helping my Mom make jam during the summer growing up (I always loved eating from the jam pot). I’m so grateful that she taught me how to make jam and that I’m able to make it with my friends here!

Food in Shanghai

For Monday’s MLK Day discussion, we had some delicious food. I had fantastic cauliflower, miso roasted eggplant, and brussel sprouts!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

On Friday, I joined members of the Kehilat Shanghai community for a lovely family Shabbat! Even though I don’t have a family here in Shanghai, I always enjoy the opportunity to join with the families here to celebrate Shabbat. It’s really allowed me to get to know so many wonderful members of the community better. I’m always thankful for the opportunity to participate and be included within this part of the community!

On Sunday, Kehilat Shanghai organized a guided tour of the newly renovated Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum. This is the third time I’ve visited the museum. However, this time we had a guided English tour, which helped me better understand the narrative of how the museum was setup. The museum tells the story of how Jews came to Shanghai, both prior to WWII and during WWII. The museum also focuses on the experience of Jews who lived in Hongkou, the ghetto where Jews (and other stateless refugees) were forced to live during the Japanese occupation. The museum focuses a lot on the relationship between Jews and the Shanghai citizens as well as the personal stories and narratives of the many Jews who lived in Shanghai. Here you can see some of the visual highlights of my visit.

One of the most powerful portions of the museum is the wall of names of all of the Jewish Refugees who came through Shanghai. While I don’t believe that any of my close relatives came to Shanghai to flee the Nazis, I did find others with the last name Marx, and Posmantir, similar to my grandmother’s last name Posmanteur.

If any of you have relatives who escaped persecution by fleeing to Shanghai, let me know and I’m happy to look for their name for you.

I really enjoyed getting to spend time in the museum. The renovations are amazing and the narrative of the Jewish story is clearly displayed throughout the museum. I look forward to returning and spending more time with some of the exhibits to learn more about the Jewish history of Shanghai!

Overall, this was a very full week filled with fun activities with friends as well as some real world events. This upcoming week will be a little quieter; however, I’m sure there will be some fun stories to share with you all next time!

I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my week as well as seeing my Jam making and exploring the Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum! If there’s anything you would like to know about my life in Shanghai, please let me know!

In peace,
Jesse

TRIVIA

Introductory Astronomy

1). At the Center of the MW is Sagitarius A*, which is a what?

2). These two dwarf galaxies, seen in the Southern Hemisphere, are the Milky Way’s nearest neighbors

3). In ~ 4 billion years, the Milky Way will merge with this other massive nearby galaxy?

4). When the sun dies in ~ 5 billion years, it will explode as a Planetary nebulae. However, the core will remain as this type of star?

5). To the nearest 1 billion years, how old is the Universe?

6). In the MW, the hottest type of stars are what color?

7). How long does it take light to travel from the sun to the earth?

8). Which phase of the moon is in between a waxing and waning gibbous?

9). Which Astronomer used the earliest telescopes to discover that Jupiter has moons?

10). What is most of the Universe made up of?
A. Dark Matter
B. Dark Energy
C. Normal (Baryonic) Matter

City Statistics

Choose the city that describes the prompt.

1). Which was the last city to host either the summer or Winter Olympics?
A – Beijing
B – Tokyo
C – Sochi
D – Rio de Janeiro

2). Which city has the largest metropolitan area population?
A – Tokyo
B – Shanghai
C – Mexico City
D – Delhi

3). Which city has the highest elevation?
A- Denver
B- Mexico City
C- Addis Ababa
D- Nairobi

4). Which city has the most top 200 Universities?
A – London
B- Paris
C – Berlin
D – New York

5). Which Capital City is farthest North?
A – Helsinki
B – Oslo
C – Moscow
D – Talinn

6). Which city has the tallest building?
A – Dubai
B- Shanghai
C- Taipei
D- New York City

7). Which city has the most skyscrapers?
A- Shenzhen
B- New York City
C- Hong Kong
D- Shanghai

8). Which city has the highest percentage of public green space?
A- Moscow
B- Singapore
C-Sydney
D-Vienna

9). Which city has the most Michelin starred restaurants?
A- Tokyo
B- Kyoto
C- Osaka
D- Paris

10). Which US city has the most professional major league (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) sports teams?
A). Salt Lake City
B). Buffalo
C). Kansas City
D). Tampa Bay

Statues and Sculptures

1). Much to the disappointment of Trump, there are only 4 presidents on Mount Rushmore, name them.

2). While not Michaelangelo’s most famous biblically inspired sculpture, this sculpture, located in the Church of San Pietro in Rome depicts this biblical figure with horns of light emanating from his head.

3). Located in Xi’an, the Terracotta warriors were sculptures depicting the armies of Xin She Huang. Who was he?

4). Though now in Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty was originally supposed to be in this location?

5). Standing tall in Brazil, Christ the Redeemer is located in what city?

6). Located in Fuxing park (in Shanghai), is a statue of these two communist thinkers?

7). In Burbank, California, there is now a statue of this superhero?

8). Located in Copenhagen is a bronze statue of this fictional character created by Hans Christian Andersen?

9). Recently, in Japan, headlines were made when a moveable full size version of a robot/machine from what anime franchise was displayed?

10). Although best known for his sculpture the Thinker, one of August Rodin’s other well known sculptures, which incorporates the thinker, depicts the opening scene of Dante’s Inferno. Name this sculpture.

Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my life and adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 continues to plague the US, and you are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside, avoiding large gatherings, and social distancing, I hope that you are all staying safe and healthy and that my blog highlights what the world can look like after a recovery from covid-19 begins. Once things improve, I hope you enjoy small gatherings with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find these interactions meaningful and enjoyable. In Shanghai, life remains mostly normal.

If you have fun following 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 my life in Shanghai, please ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, feel free to share this blog with anyone else who may be interested in my adventures!

Life in Shanghai

I hope that this latest post continues to find all of you safe and healthy. Even with the arrival of the covid-19 vaccines, cases continue to skyrocket in the US, so I hope that you are all continuing to stay safe and healthy and are taking the necessary precautions of wearing masks and social distancing. On that note, I hope that, so far, 2021 has been a healthy and safe year far all of you.

Before I begin, I need to explain something. In my last post, I said that I would be going to Xi’an this weekend. However, as you can tell from the title, that didn’t happen. Instead, I chose not to travel and will not be traveling at all in the foreseeable future (at least through March). This past week, there was a small covid-19 scare in Xi’an (1 detected case). Additionally, Shanghai, Beijing, and many other cities/provinces (including Xi’an) have just instituted laws requiring all people to take covid-19 tests and monitor (and possible quarantine) for 14 days after travelling to medium/high risk areas. When this was announced prior to my trip, this made me very nervous and uncomfortable with the prospect of traveling even though Xi’an is low risk. When I went to Harbin a few weeks ago, there was no concern and none of this was required. Moreover, SJTU and the Shanghai government has made it clear that people should not travel (unless for an emergency) during the upcoming Chinese New Year Holiday. So, even though I was really looking forward to going to Xi’an, I decided that since I did not need to travel, I would not take the risk. The terracotta warriors will still be there later this year. So, I chose to be cautions and not take the risk of leaving Shanghai, possible being forced to quarantine for 14 days, and even getting covid-19.

As you can see, even though covid-19 is under control (when compared to the US), the Chinese government continues to take it extremely seriously. There has been an outbreak in Hebei. There are hundreds of cases in this city (~700 active) and the city has essentially been locked down to prevent spread for the next month. Given that many people traditionally travel for Chinese New Year, the government is being proactive by restricting travel beforehand. In Shanghai, all remaining cases are imported. There are currently 88 cases in Shanghai and 36 in Beijing. The recovery rate is 94.04% in Shanghai and 95.51% in Beijing. For China as a whole, the recovery rate is 93.18%. Even though these outbreaks are small and the case numbers are low, it’s very comforting knowing that the government still views halting the virus as a main priority.

Given that I spent a lot of my previous post discussing my reaction to the domestic terrorism in Washington D.C. last week, I do want to reflect on the political situation in the US. First, I am happy that the House impeached Trump again. This was an attempted coup and treasonous actions and Trump should be prevented from ever holding higher office again. I’m disgusted that McConnell seemingly refuses to do anything with it in the Senate. I’m also glad that many of the terrorists have been arrested. Though the politicians who incited and helped those terrorists also must be held accountable. However, it concerns me that many Republicans want a moment of unity, instead of reflecting on the fact that their party is solely responsible for Trump’s treasonous actions. While I will attempt to remain positive, I hope that there is no further violence at the Inauguration on Thursday, though I remain scared about that. I’ll definitely keep my eye out for how the Chinese media responds to the inauguration and talk to some of my colleagues about it this week.

In terms of Astronomy, this was a fairly productive week! I got my second set of DES internal review comments on my Stellar Mass – Halo Mass relation paper. Thankfully, they were very positive! 🙂 There’s a little bit of new analysis that I need to do, but I think I should be able to get a lot of the edits done in the next week or so! I’ll keep you all updated as this progresses, but fingers crossed this gets through the DES process in the next month. I also made some good headway on the mock version of the Luminosity Function. Thanks to help from my friend/colleague Haojie (who’s mock universe we’re using), I was able to figure out all the nuances to these measurements as well! I also do want to note that it is now the Chinese New Year break, so a lot of the students/faculty have left the campus (I’m unsure if they’ve gone home). So, a lot of my normal weekly activities (colloquiums, AstroCoffee) will go on hiatus for a while, but that’ll allow me to get more research done!

Also, the department got some cool new planet decorations!

Unlike last week where it was cold, this week, it was really warm! So warm in fact that on Friday, I went running in shorts and a t-shirt! It was almost 70 degrees! I was also able to go for 2 more runs (3 in total) this week as well!

You can see some of the things I saw this week, including a really cool Batman jacket!

The main highlight of this week was on Wednesday, when the Physics and Astronomy Departments hosted there Chinese New Year Celebration! This year is the Year of the Ox. If you recall, at last year’s party, I was selected to play a game where I had to shake balls off of my back. Sadly no such game was played this year, but it was still a lot of fun. There were games, people dancing, including one of the Astronomy Department faculty members (front and center), sang songs, played instruments, did magic tricks, and one of the new scientists even showed off some basketball tricks! They also gave out virtual red packets (traditionally given at new years) on WeChat and I won ~ 60 RMB (~$8)!

Overall, the celebration was a lot of fun and a nice break during a busy research week!

On top of that, I also won a box of snacks and received another box as part of my University Holiday Gift! I am happy to report that most of the snacks are vegetarian!

In addition to the fun department events, on Saturday, I got together with my Improv friends for an afternoon full of fun Improv games! It’s been a while since we’ve gathered, so it was really nice to break out the Improv muscles and be silly together. We played a few of my favorite games including half-life, where you act out a scene in 60 seconds, then 30, then 15, then 7, then 3! Overall, it was a fun way to relax on Saturday!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

On Sunday, Kehilat Shanghai did another Adult Education Session at Tov. I’m giving the one in two weeks, so I’m finally going to share some Astronomy with Kehilat Shanghai! This week we had a fascinating talk on Jews in Asia. Most of the talk focused on Jews in India, Japan, other parts of China, and Myanmar. A lot of these Jewish communities originally were founded after the Spanish Inquisition/Expulsion from Spain. The presenter shared photos from his travels to different synagogues around Asia as well as to other Jewish sites. While I was aware of the Jewish population in India, I didn’t realize Jews had attempted to colonize in Japan, where it was initially short lived, but later grew during WWII. So, there’s definitely a few new places I hope that I’m able to visit! Interestingly, the star of David is also a Buddhist symbol, so there are times when the star of David is seen in Asia for completely different reasons!

Overall, this was a quieter week, which allowed me to be productive and get work done! This upcoming week will be a bit busier, on Monday, I’m organizing a MLK Day discussion, Tuesday is Trivia, and this weekend, Hannah Maia and I will be making jam again! So, there’ll be lots of fun stuff to share!

I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my week! If there’s anything you would like to know about my life in Shanghai, please let me know!

In peace,
Jesse

Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my life and adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 continues to plague the US, and you are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside, avoiding large gatherings, and social distancing, I hope that you are all staying safe and healthy and that my blog highlights what the world can look like after a recovery from covid-19 begins. Once things improve, I hope you enjoy small gatherings with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find these interactions meaningful and enjoyable. In Shanghai, life has returned mostly to normal.

If you have fun following 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 my life in Shanghai, please ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, feel free to share this blog with anyone else who may be interested in my adventures!

Life in Shanghai

I hope that this latest post continues to find all of you safe and healthy. Before I get started on this post, if you haven’t seen my previous post about my amazing trip to Harbin (https://astronomerinshanghai.com/uncategorized/astronomer-in-harbin-adventures-in-a-winter-wonderland/), please check it out! It was a fantastic experience and I really hope you all enjoy seeing the highlights from the Snow and Ice festivals!

I need to begin this post by discussing the absolutely terrifying act of domestic terrorism that took place in the US last week. When I went to bed on Wednesday night (Wednesday morning US time), I was filled with a sense of hope. Rev. Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff had just been elected to the senate from Georgia. The image of a Black man and a Jewish man serving as Senators from a traditionally conservative state brought me hope that with Democrats controlling the Senate things appeared to be moving in the right direction. However, when I woke up on Thursday morning (around 5pm EST), I was met with messages of fear from my brother and parents. While I went to bed feeling hope, I awoke feeling a deep shame at being American. While I wasn’t able to watch the domestic terrorism that unfolded (this was not a protest and should not be called a protest under any circumstances) live, I spent the next 5-6 hours doom scrolling, alternating between different CNN, Washington Post, NPR, and New York times articles, essentially consuming my entire day.

While I know that many of you read my blog to learn about and see my experiences, I need to share my thoughts on what happened. First, as I noted, this was not a protest. This was and act of domestic terrorism led by white supremacists and racists, spurred on by the deceitful actions of the worst and most selfish President in US history. That we have people unwilling to accept a fair election strikes me with a lot of fear that going forward, the losing side will not be willing to accept their loss. Second, the contrast between the actions taken by police on Wednesday, who were allowing armed attackers to illegally enter the capital, taking selfies with them, and ushering them towards the members of congress when compared to the riot gear and weaponry dispensed towards the peaceful Black Lives Matter protestors over the summer only further illuminates how racist and corrupt the police system is in the US. In the summer we had non-violent protestors beaten and shot with rubber bullets. This past week, we had violent domestic terrorists being allowed to freely leave the capital. It is clear that because these protestors were white, they were treated better by the police. That alone is not okay and is unacceptable. It is therefore up to everyone to demand police reform. Demand that police be held accountable for there actions (which sadly is not often the case and was not the case for the officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back). Demand that people are treated equally and that those laws are enforced. The last point that I’d like to make is that it’s a sad day for Democracy in the US. Every member of the Republican party who has supported Trump and his antics over the last four years needs to resign. Moreover, those who refused to condone his lies about the election need to be held accountable for their crimes against democracy. It was their cowardice and refusal to accept the results of a just and fair election and denounce Trump’s lies that led to the actions on Wednesday. Moreover, the cabinet members who chose to resign instead of enact the 25th amendment are cowards and should receive no credit for finally having a backbone. That Senators like Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz still chose to attempt to discredit the election in order to appeal to Trump’s racist base only illuminates how polarized and divided America is. This was a sad week for America. Hopefully, Congress will impeach Trump so he’s never able to run for higher office again. However, Trump is clearly a symptom and not the root cause of the racism that is pervasive in America today. America has a long way to go and a lot of work to be done. It’s up to all of us to continue that work to help make the world a better, fair, just, and anti-racist place.

I hope that you all take the time to consider what I’ve written. While I realize not everyone will agree with my political view, I hope that you all recognize that things have to change. If they remain the same, America will not be great, it will only be racist and divided.

Even as all the political chaos is swirling in the US, covid-19 remains a severe, and underappreciated problem in the US. I remain increasingly concerned about your safety and health. Particularly those of you in Saratoga County, which now has one of the highest covid-19 rates in New York State. It pains me to see the fear on my family and friends faces when I talk with them. The US has over 22.2 million cases and 372 thousand deaths. This is not acceptable and these numbers land squarely at the feet of the Trump administration. So, please, regardless of what policies are enacted, wear masks and gloves, wash your hands, and don’t travel. In China, things have changed a bit. There has been an outbreak in Hebei (even further north than Harbin). There are a few hundred cases there (so still small numbers by US standards), but that city has been locked down to prevent spread. In Shanghai, there are 106 active covid-19 cases. The recovery rate for Shanghai is at 92.8%. So, if strict policies are enacted about quarantining and travel, it is possible to halt the spread of the virus.

In terms of Astronomy, this was a very productive week! I received positive feedback from my first reviewer (of 2) for my Dark Energy Survey paper on the evolution of the Stellar Mass – Halo Mass relation. So, I spent some time making some of the minor clarification revisions. I’m very excited to publish these results, so hopefully the rest of the process will go well. I also spent the rest of my time working on my Luminosity Function analysis using the simulated mock data. I finally figured out how to make mock observations and have begun analyzing the Luminosity Function in the mock.

Surprisingly, the weather was very cold this week (at least by Shanghai standards). This was the first time while I’ve lived in Shanghai where the temperature did not reach above O Celsius. This past week, was the coldest week in Shanghai in decades. That same cold wave also hit Beijing. While I know the weather in Shanghai isn’t cold for me (based on living in Saratoga, Providence, or Ann Arbor or after my recent trip to Harbin), in Shanghai, this is incredibly cold. The main reason it’s so cold is that in the Southern parts of China, the government does not require buildings to have insulation and heating (they have air condition heating). So, often times, even when it’s not that cold outside, it is cold or chilly inside. However, despite the cold weather, I still bundled up and went for two runs this week! Even with the cold weather, I managed to take some photos of some cool things around Shanghai!

Although I intentionally wanted to have a productive week, I still made some time for some fun activities. On Sunday morning, I was invited to a brunch at my friends Heather and Shimi’s. I had a lovely time chatting with everyone about the political turmoil in the US and of course Astronomy, while enjoying some delicious food.

The highlight of my week was on Sunday afternoon when I made Asian Pear jam with my friend Hannah Maia! As my Mom knows, Pear jam (or Pearserves as she cleverly calls it) is one of my absolute favorite flavors of jam! So, when Hannah Maia suggested making it, I was very excited!

As you can see, we had a really fun time spending the afternoon making the jam! More importantly, it has a really wonderful flavor! I look forward to enjoying it in the coming weeks! Plus, we’re planning to make more to give as Chinese New Year gifts!

One last highlight of the week, was that I got to see/play with some of my friends pets this week! You see Daniel’s kitten, Osiris; Kate and Ilan’s super friendly and fluffy dog, Pina; and Anton’s cat, Solo!

Jewish Life in Shanghai

On Friday, Moishe House hosted their first Shabbat of 2021. I hadn’t been in the physical Moishe House in a while (due to a combination of work, traveling, and some of their events being elsewhere), so it was really nice to join together for the Shabbat blessings and then spend Shabbat with some of my friends (and their pets) and enjoy some delicious Mediterranean style cuisine (I made oatmeal raisin cookies for desert)! While unsurprisingly, there was a lot of talk about the political situation in the US, it was really interesting to chat with other ex-pats about the situation in the US and hear there thoughts and opinions on it as well.

Overall, this was a quieter week, which after my adventure in Harbin was much needed. Next week, the first half will be all work, but then from Thursday – Saturday, I’ll be going to Xi’an with Heather and Shimi to see the Terracotta Warriors! So, make sure to check in next week!

I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my week and my jam making. If there’s anything you would like to know about my life in Shanghai or my trip to Harbin, please let me know!

In peace,
Jesse

Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my life and adventures in Shanghai and China! As covid-19 continues to plague the US, and you are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside, avoiding large gatherings, and social distancing, I hope that you are all staying safe and healthy and that my blog highlights what the world can look like after a recovery from covid-19 begins. Once things improve, I hope you enjoy small gatherings with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find these interactions meaningful and enjoyable. In Shanghai, life has returned mostly to normal.

If you have fun following 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 my life in Shanghai, please ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, feel free to share this blog with anyone else who may be interested in my adventures!

Life in Shanghai

Happy New Year! I hope that this first entry of 2021 finds all of you continuing to stay safe and healthy. I know 2020 was a difficult year for many of you and while I know that turning the calendar to a new year won’t magically change anything, I hope that you, as I do, enter 2021 with optimism that things can and will improve! I hope that the first few days have been a good start to 2021 and that you all have a safe, happy, and most importantly healthy new year ahead!

As you can tell from the title, most of this post will highlight my photos from my amazing trip to Harbin! However, before I do that, I want to update you about my life in Shanghai. First for a covid-19 update. While the vaccines in the US are making headlines, China has also developed it’s own vaccine (the SinoPharm vaccine). Some of my colleagues at SJTU will be getting that vaccine (I will have the opportunity to during the next round of sign ups). So, I’ll keep you all up to date on that end. In terms of the number of cases, there have been a few small outbreaks in China (10s of cases). However, the government takes those cases very seriously, so people who traveled to those areas are required to quarantine for 14 days. This is the main benefit of the contact tracing. In terms of numbers (based on the numbers from SHINE News), there are currently 94 active cases in Shanghai (all imported) and the recovery rate sits at ~ 93.4%. For China as a whole, the recovery rate is at 94.2%. Hopefully the vaccines as well as following social distancing guidelines will yield similar results elsewhere as well!

In terms of Astronomy, this was a mildly productive week. I spent a lot of time putting together a virtual poster on my Dark Energy Survey (DES) Stellar Mass – Halo Mass relation research for the upcoming AAS meeting (if any of my Astronomer friends are registered to participate, please check out my poster!). Other than that, I’ve spent most of my time getting adjusted to working with mock simulations and working to understand how to take “mock observations” using that data. Hopefully this week, I’ll have some more exciting updates to share!

Now for what you’ve all been waiting for, Harbin!!

Harbin!

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Harbin is a city in north east portion of China (north of Beijing) with over 11 million people. Harbin is located in the Heilongjiang Province, China’s northernmost province. Harbin is famous for its snow and ice festivals, which you’ll get to experience here! Moreover, Harbin is very cold! The temperatures had highs of -20 Celsius with lows of ~ -27 Celsius. In Fahrenheit, those temperatures are about a high of -4 and a low of -17. Keep in mind these are temperatures without windchill, so it is even colder there. It’s like a polar vortex, but for months. While I have experienced plenty of cold days in Saratoga and Ann Arbor, this was a new level of cold I had never felt before! Just to go outside, I wore ski socks, boots, two base layers, tights (sometimes 2), pants (or snowpants), a puffy jacket, my northface coat, gloves, a hat (sometimes 2) and a scarf. One of the things I was most looking forward to about this trip was seeing snow!! I haven’t seen any since spring of 2019, which was so long ago! So, I was very happy to see it upon arrival!

First off, I had an amazing adventure exploring Harbin and the snow and ice festivals! I had a fantastic time with my friends Hannah Maia, Anton, Lea, Yujin, and Cathie! It was a great travel group and I couldn’t have asked for better travel buddies!

Since Harbin is far from Shanghai, we had to fly. While under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t be a big deal, this was actually the first time I’ve flown since arriving in China in October of 2019. So, since many of you have likely never been in an Airport in China, this is what it looks like (which is pretty similar to a US airport)!

We arrived at our lovely hotel in Harbin on Thursday afternoon. So, we only did a little bit of exploring on Thursday, but there was still a lot to see!

While we were out walking, we came across a group of older people who were dancing/exercising outside in the -22 C weather! So, Hannah Maia and I joined in!

And of course we spent the evening celebrating New Year’s back in our hotel! Just like in the US, there are New Year’s celebrations broadcast on TV. We watched one sponsored by TikTok live from Shanghai!

Sun Island: The Snow Festival

The first highlights of this trip was the snow sculpture festival on Sun Island! As you can see from the assortment of photos below, this is a massive festival with all kinds of different gigantic sculptures. There were castles, dragons, cats, and replicas of works of art all made out of snow!

As you can see these are massive sculptures! I was stunned by how large and detailed these all were! It was breathtaking!

While the sculptures were amazing. My favorite part was sledding! We got to slide down some of the slopes on our buts as well as on plastic slides! There was even a high speed ice slide that felt like you were on a luge track!

I haven’t gone sledding in years! This transported me back to childhood and sledding down the hill in high rock park. I had a huge grin on my face the entire time!

One interesting things about Harbin was that there were birch trees! I didn’t realize these grew in China, yet alone outside of the northeast! So, it was nice to see something that reminded me of home!

The Harbin Snow and Ice Festival: A real Winter Wonderland

On Friday Evening, we had the pleasure of going to the 22nd Annual Harbin Snow and Ice Festival! As you’ll see below, this is such a magical place! All the castles, statues, and structures lit up (using LED lights embedded in the ice) truly brought the whole area to life!

As you can see the festival is amazingly magical! The way it was lit up made everything look gorgeous, like it was part of a fantasy land! Despite the cold, I couldn’t help but want to explore and see as much of it as possible! It was so much more amazing than I ever expected it to be.

We ended the ice festival by ringing the giant bell set up at the ice festival. It’s traditionally rung three times for good luck (which didn’t exactly happen)!

While the whole festival was amazing, One of my favorite parts was this series of concentric rings made of ice! It looked super futuristic and we had fun sliding around! Almost like we were in the space station!

Downtown Harbin!

Even though there was so much to see in the Ice and Snow Festivals, I’m really glad that we got to explore Downtown Harbin, particularly the large pedestrian street as well. We spent parts of Friday afternoon and Saturday exploring the area. The pedestrian street was lined with different ice sculptures, depicting mythic scenes, animals, and even advertisements! 🙂

On top of all the ice festivities, there was even another Ice Fair directly on the river that runs through Harbin! The ice is frozen 2 meters thick there, so it’s incredibly sturdy! Unlike the others which were artistic, this one was entirely games and activities. They had bumper cars, zorbs, and sleds!

We even went on the Crazy Octopus ride, which drove us around in circles on a giant inflatable octopus attached to a jeep!

In addition to exploring all the ice festivities, we went and saw the famous Saint Sophia Church. This is a Russian style church built in Harbin. Since Harbin is so close to Russia, the Russian influence is quite strong.

Food in Harbin

While I have an easy time finding vegan/vegetarian food in Shanghai, sadly, it was not quite as easy in Harbin. However, thanks to a lot of effort and help by my friends, especially Cathie and Hannah Maia, I was always able to eat something (and it was generally great)!

On Thursday night, we celebrated New Year’s Eve with a Hot Pot dinner! I enjoyed all different kinds of vegetables (mushrooms, spinach, cabbage, potato, bamboo,…) as well as a ton of different tofu!

On Friday, we enjoyed Russian food for lunch! I had vegetarian borscht for the first time!

After the ice festival on Friday, we enjoyed tons of Shao Kao (barbecue skewers)! I ate so much vegetables! The spicy and grilled veggies were great!

However, my favorite meal was on Saturday, when we had tofu bao buns (Thanks to Yujin for finding them)!! They were delicious!

One of my favorite food experiences was eating the frozen food outside! At the ice festival, they were selling frozen fruit, preserved in sugar. I got strawberries, which were great and reminded me of the strawberry smoothies I used to get growing up! I also even enjoyed a peach ice cream bar earlier in the day! Nothing quite like eating frozen food when you yourself are frozen! 🙂

Jewish Life in Harbin

Interestingly, Harbin has a long Jewish history. Following the Russian Revolution, many Russian Jews fled south to China and established a community in Harbin. They stayed in China until the early 1950s following the formation of Israel and the fall of Chang Kai-Shek. Harbin still has a synagogue, which today serves as a museum. Unfortunately, the museum was closed for renovation. However, we were still able to see the Synagogue and feel the Jewish presence within the city. If you zoom in on the center photo, you can see the star of David on top of the dome!

Beardcicles in Harbin!

Now perhaps the most funny (at least for my friends) part of the trip was the way that my beard would freeze each time I went outside! Although I tried to cover my face with a mask, that would cause moisture to build up and freeze on my classes, which was not ideal. However, beardcicles are nothing new (they happen when I run) and led to some very funny photos! Everyone (including our taxi drivers) thought my beard looked hilarious!

The Seven Stages of Beardcicles!

As you can all tell, this was a fantastic trip! I’m so glad that I was able to go and explore Harbin! This was my first time leaving Shanghai and its neighboring provinces, so I’m really excited that I was finally able to start exploring China! Hopefully this is the first of many exciting trips around China in 2021! I also am so glad that I got to experience Harbin with such great and wonderful friends! Thank you to Hannah Maia, Anton, Cathie, Yujin, and Lea for making this experience all the more memorable!

Next week will be a quieter, work focused week, but I’m sure I’ll have some new and interesting things to share with you all and to reflect upon.

I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my week and experiencing my trip to Harbin through these photos! If there’s anything you would like to know about my life in Shanghai or my trip to Harbin, please let me know!

In peace,
Jesse

Trivia

Also, as promised, here are the answers to the trivia questions that I wrote!

Famous Last Names

For each question, provide the last name in common between the two people described.

1. Director of The Batman and War of the Planet of the Apes and the first actor to play Superman?
   • Matt and George Reeves
2. The creator of Doonsebury and the Prime Minister of Canada?
   • Gary and Justin Trudeau
3. Actor known for his roles in Whiplash and Spider-Man and the founder of The Ringer and former ESPN talking head?
   • J.K. and Bill Simmons
4. Senior Senator from New York and comedian known for her role in movies such as Trainwreck?
   • Amy and Chuck Schumer
5. Musician who was part of the Hollies and CSN and a former two-time NBA MVP?
   • Graham and Steve Nash
6. Secretary of State under President George W. Bush and retired Jamaican Olympian sprinter?
   • Colin and Asafa Powell
7. Formula One race car driver with the most wins of all time and the original actress who portrayed Sarah Connor in the Terminator Franchise?
   • Lewis and Linda Hamilton
8. The original actor who played Dumbledore and the vice-President elect of the United States?
   • Richard and Kamala Harris
9. Actress known for her work in Arrival, American Hustle, and Man of Steel and the Second first lady of the United States?
   • Amy and Abigail Adams
10. Actor known for his diversity of roles including Batman Begins, The Machinist, and The Fighter and a professional footballer for the Tottenham Hot Spurs?
    • Christian and Gareth Bale

Characters from the Bible

1. This father of Noah is described as having the longest lifespan of anyone in the Bible?
   • Methuselah
2. Who are the two sons of Joseph (adopted by Jacob)? — Corrected due to an error on my part.
   • Ephraim and Menashe
3. Who was the King of Israel who was succeeded by King David?
   • King Saul
4. Who was the third child of Adam and Eve?
   • Seth
5. Who is responsible for cutting Samson’s hair?
   • Delilah
6. Who is the mother of the prophet Samuel whose exultant hymn of thanksgiving is described in the Bible?
   • Hannah
7. This sister of Moses led the women in dancing and celebration after successfully crossing the Red Sea?
   • Miriam
8. The Talmud names only Four angels, they are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and who?
   • Uriel
9. Who was the leader of the Israelites that sent spies into the city of Jericho?
   • Joshua
10. Who is the mother of Abraham’s other son, Ishmael?
    • Hagar