Hi Everyone! Welcome back to Astronomer in Shanghai! I hope that you are all enjoying the end of the summer while staying safe and healthy! This was a fun month with a lot of interesting events and experiences ranging from birthday parties and Shabbat gatherings to the typhoon that hit Shanghai! And of course, I’ll be sharing with you the highlight of my summer, Emmet’s arrival in Shanghai!!!

Due to some new covid-19 restrictions (cases are still incredibly low, but everyone is being cautious, especially at SJTU), I didn’t do any traveling. However, that didn’t stop me from having fun (in between my Astronomy research) here in Shanghai! As I mentioned last month, it’s incredibly hot and humid during the summer. Most days it’s in the mid 90s with high humidity and unfortunately over the last few weeks we’ve had a lot of rain/thunderstorms. I’m still going to F45 5-6 times a week, but hopefully once it cools down a little I’ll be able to add some running back into my routine. Hopefully in the next two months we’ll get some nice fall weather, making running and more outdoor excursions fun!

At the end of July, Shanghai was hit by Typhoon In-Fa. For those of you unfamiliar, a typhoon is the same as a hurricane, different terminology is just used for where it makes landfall. This was my first typhoon, so it was an interesting experience to say the least. For the most part, I hunkered down in my apartment, where surprisingly, I could hear very little of the storm (I hope that means that my apartment building is well built). However, I could see the trees shaking in the wind as well as the heavy rainfall. I ventured out a few times (when the storms were mild) and took some photos to show the damage.

As you can see both in my neighborhood and on campus, a lot of trees either fell down or lost branches. Thankfully, the city workers did a great job getting Shanghai cleaned up and looking beautiful again!

While living through a typhoon is an experience, it’s not something really enjoyable. In contrast, there were a lot of other fun activities that I would do again! 🙂 For example, Hannah Maia and I made gooseberry jam! Gooseberries are very popular in China. My Mom made gooseberry jam years ago, so I followed her recipe. Although I don’t think I’d ever eaten a gooseberry before (they taste kind of like a sweet tomato), the jam came out quite nicely! I look forward to making jam with other Chinese fruits, too!

One other fun highlight of the month was my friend Bruce’s 60th birthday party (Bruce is on the Kehilat Shanghai board with me). It was 60s themed, so I busted out my tye-dye and let my hair down! The party was at a hotel on the Bund (the area along the Huangpu river with many skyscrapers, including the Shanghai tower) so it was a gorgeous skyline to boot! As you can see below, I wasn’t the only one with a great 60s themed costume :).

I always love seeing the Shanghai skyline! It’s almost always lit up at night and always makes for a spectacular view!!

In addition to fun birthday parties, we also had both a family and a community Shabbat with the Kehilat Shanghai community! I got to lead the Shabbat services for the community Shabbat, which I really enjoyed! With few people traveling over the summer, these Shabbats have really provided a nice opportunity to become closer with more of the Kehilat community! It took us, as a board, a while, but we’ve now got a schedule down for Shabbat events, so I really look forward to Shabbats every month!

Along with fun events, there were also some melancholy events. As is the case for any ex-pat community, sometimes people leave and move back home. This past month, the former president of Kehilat Shanghai, and his family moved back to Washington D.C. While it’s sad to see friends and community members leave, it’s nice knowing that because of my experiences in Shanghai I’ll have friends all around the world :). Josh and his family had a lovely send off party at Tacolicious, which was a fun opportunity for me and other members of the Kehilat community to see them all before they moved back!

In addition to a farewell party at Tacolicious, we of course continue to have our Kehilat Shanghai Trivia nights! Since my last post, we had two Trivia nights, I wrote two categories in each. The Apollo 11 Moon landing and Hotter than July and “Suicide Squad: Martyrs and Martyrdom” and “Bye Bye Pervert: Politicians forced to resign.” I’ll share my categories at the end. Hope you enjoy them! In addition, I joined some of my other trivia friends for another Trivia night (that I didn’t host), which was lots of fun, too!

Throughout this month, I also enjoyed a lot of vegan pizza! Since I’m still amazed I can get vegan pizza in Shanghai, here it is (super vegan, vegan Hawaiin, and vegan spicy sausage)!

Along with all the fun events, I saw a ton of cool things I wanted to share with all of you, too!

For those of you wondering, those are constellations on the ceiling of a metro station!

In addition, there were also some cute (and friendly) cats as well as some great photos of my neighborhood and campus post typhoon that I wanted to share!

Shanghai is a beautiful city. I love walking around in the morning in the Former French Concession and seeing the beautiful tree lined streets. Even though I don’t get to leave that often, I’m glad that within such a large city, I’m able to find nice pockets of green space!

The biggest highlight and most exciting part of this month was Emmet’s arrival in China! As many of you know, my twin brother Emmet, accepted a postdoctoral Fellowship at Tsinghua University in Beijing. He was supposed to start last year, but as a result of covid-19 restrictions, wasn’t able to get his visa and come to China until recently. Well at long last, Emmet is in China! He’s currently staying with me in Shanghai until he’s able to go to Beijing (they require a longer quarantine period). So, for the next 2ish weeks, Emmet and I will be able to go on some adventures in Shanghai!

Even though Emmet arrived in Shanghai on August 4th, I wasn’t able to see him until the 18th because of a 2 week hotel quarantine. Despite that, I went and waved at the hotel!

If you zoom in close enough, you can see Emmet in the middle window!

On August 18th, I picked Emmet up from quarantine and we were reunited at long last! I haven’t seen Emmet or any of my family since the beginning of October in 2019, which is far too long!

Now Emmet is staying in my apartment (doing his community health monitoring, 2 more covid-19 tests and daily temperature checks for a few more days). So, we haven’t gotten to do tons of exploring yet. However, I did get to help Emmet get some of his essentials, including a new iphone and a Chinese sim card. To do that, we went to the always luxurious and futuristic IAPM mall not far from my apartment.

Of course, we had to take a picture with the panda! 🙂

Additionally, when Emmet and I passed the Tim Horton’s (yes, there are multiple Tim Horton’s in Shanghai) we knew we had to go in and buy some Tim bits and take a picture. My Mom is from Buffalo, and whenever we would visit our grandparents while we were growing up, they took us to Tim Horton’s. So, seeing one here brought back fond memories from our childhood and time spent with our grandparents in Buffalo!

We also got to celebrate our first Shabbat and havdalah together. We celebrated Shabbat together at home with a Challah from Bread Etc. For Havdalah went to a Kehilat Havdalah Happy Hour hosted by my friends John and Alex! It was great to start to introduce Emmet to the Kehilat community!

This past weekend, we also watched The Suicide Squad together, continuing our effort to see all DC comics movies together (if you enjoy either DC Comics movies or are looking for a fun and entertaining way to spend 2 hours, I highly recommend)!

One thing I’ve really appreciated with having Emmet here is seeing his excitement for all of these new experiences. Emmet’s reactions reminds me how different living in Shanghai is from any other place that I’ve lived before. So much of what first excited and surprised me has now become normal. Whether it’s seeing Emmet’s reaction to how futuristic the IAPM mall looks or watching him figure out what different foods are, it emphasizes that I must continue to treasure all the wonderful experiences I’m having in Shanghai!

In terms of firsts, Emmet got to enjoy his first jian bang! These are Shanghai style street crepes filled with just egg (a vegan egg substitute), scallions, lettuce, tofu skins, a cracker, and a spicy sauce! They’re fantastic!

He got his first opportunity to see a Chinese Buddhist temple, when we walked by the magnificent Jing’an Temple on our way home from havdalah!

We’ll definitely go again so that Emmet can see the beautiful interior.

Additionally, we had our first vegan feast at Godly, one of the oldest and best vegan/vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai!

We enjoyed a lunch of kaofu (Chinese style seitan), vegetarian pork and tofu knots, crispy vegetarian duck, mushrooms and greens, dumplings in peanut sauce, and spicy/crispy sword beans! It was a fantastic meal and I’m so glad Emmet finally got to experience the amazing food that I’ve been enjoying for the past two years!

Over the next few weeks, I’m really excited to introduce Emmet to many of my friends and show him some of my favorite places in Shanghai! After not seeing each other for two years, it’s really wonderful to get to spend so much time together!

Thank you all so much for reading another entry of Astronomer in Shanghai! I hope you enjoyed seeing so much of what I’ve been up to! If you’re interested in what Emmet’s up to, he’ll be setting up a blog in the next few weeks and discussing his experiences as well! For those of you who are starting a new academic year, I hope that that begins safely. Additionally, for any of you celebrating Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Jewish High Holy Days, I hope that you find the holidays enjoyable, meaningful, and are able to reflect on the past year. I’ll be co-leading the services for Kehilat Shanghai, so will let you all know about them next time!

In peace,

Jesse

Trivia

Apollo 11 Moon landing

1). What was the landing site of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module?

2). What were the code names given to the Lunar Module and the Command Module?

3). The Apollo 11 insignia features this animal carrying an olive branch on the moon.
Bonus point — Who designed the logo?

4). Who was the highest ranking US government official who came to the vicinity of the launch site to watch Apollo 11 take off?

5). Who designed the Saturn V rocket used in the Apollo 11 launch?

6). This member of the original Mercury 7 Astronauts was responsible for picking the Apollo 11 crew.

7). How many days was the Apollo 11 space flight (i.e., how many days were their between take off and splash down)?

8). After Armstrong and Aldrin planted the US Flag on the Lunar Surface, President Richard Nixon spoke to them from what location within the White House?

9). Which of these items was not left on the moon following the Apollo 11 moon landing?

A). A memorial bag containing a gold replica of an olive branch
B). A disk containing a listing of the leadership of the US Congress
C). Memorial medals for Cosmonauts Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin
D). An Apollo 11 mission patch

10). Following splashdown, the Apollo 11 astronauts had to spend how many days of quarantine in the Mobile Quanratine Facility.

Hotter than July!

1). July, July! Is a song on the album Castaways and Cutouts by this Portland Oregon based Alternative/folk rock band?

2). On July 19, 1799, French soldiers discovered this black stone that was later used to help translate hieroglyphics

3). On July 3, 1976, a raid on this airport in Uganda by an Israeli commando unit to rescue 103 hostages of a hijacked Air France plane took place.

4). On July 10, 1943, this male tennis player and first African American man to win a major championship was born.
Bonus point — Name which majors he won?

5). On July 14th of what year did the Bastille Fall?

6). July is named after who?

7). On July 17, 1918, this last Russian Czar and his family were murdered by the Bolsheviks.

8). On July 19th of 1834, this French artist, best known for his paintings and sculptures of dancers was born.

9). On July 22nd, 1934, this original “Public Enemy No. 1” was shot and killed in Chicago.

10). On July 25, 1909, the world’s first international overseas flight occurred when Louis Bleriot flew between these two countries in a small monoplane.

The Suicide Squad: Martyrs and Martyrdom

1). During the Hundred Years War, Jeanne D’Arc or Joan of Arc was sent to this French city (under siege) and led them to victory only 9 days after the seige.

2). This radical abolitionist who led raids on Harper’s Ferry and was responsible for bleeding Kansas became a martyr for those seeking to end slavery in the USA.

3). In this Faith, perhaps best known for the beautiful gardens on it’s holy site near Haifa martyrdom is defined as devoting oneself to the service of humanity rather than a literal sacrifice.

4). This party in China used the “Dare to Die” campaign to promote the concept of martyrdom among its members.

5). Though part of the Apocrypha, martyrdom with regard to Jews is referenced throughout 1 and 2 Maccabees, which recounts the Jewish struggle under these overlords?

6). Some scholars argue that at the end of his life, the Biblical character Samson was martyred to defeat the Philistines, pagan worshipers of this god?

7). In Christianity, this Saint is known as the proto-martyr.

8). In Shanghai, there are two notable monuments to martyrs, name them?

9). It was during the reign of this Roman Emperor that the concept of a Christian Martyr became one who was killed for maintaining their beliefs.

10). In early Christianity and Islam, the word for martyr is the same as this other word, which defines someone who gives testimony to the truth

Bye Bye Pervert: Politicians who Resigned from Office

1). Andrew Cuomo is the latest politician to resign fromoffice due to sexual harassment scandals. However, he is not the only former Governor of New York to do so as a result of sexual scandals in the last 20 years. Name the other?

2). This former Prime Minister of the UK chose to resign due to the inability to pass a Brexit Bill.

3). Former SNL cast member, Al Franken, was forced to resign as Senator from what state as a result of accusations of sexual misconduct?

4). This former Director of the CIA was forced to resign when the FBI uncovered an extramarital affair.

5). In 1977, this Israeli Prime Minister was forced to resign due to allegations of financial improprieties.

6). Richard Nixon is the only US President to resign from office, as a result of the Watergate scandal. Watergate was first reported by these two reporters from the Washington Post.

7). Andrew Cuomo’s recent resignation came after this Attorney General of New York (and potential gubernatorial candidate) led an investigation which found a continued culture of sexual harassment.

8). This former representative from NY was forced to resign after admitting to sending sexually-explicit photos of himself to women via twitter. However, this behavior continued, resulting in his arrest for sexting a 15 year old.

9). Republican Tim Murphy ironically resigned after what details of his extramarital affair became public?

10). This former President of South Africa was forced to resign due to charges relating to corruption, fraud, racketeering, and money laundering.

Answers:

Apollo 11: 1). Sea of Tranquility 2). Eagle/Columbia 3). Bald Eagle; Bonus– Michael Collins 4). Vice President Spiro Agnew 5). Werner von Braun 6). Deke Slayton 7). 8 days (3 hours, 18 minutes, 35 seconds) 8). The Oval Office, 9). D, 10). 21 days

Hotter than July: 1). The Decemberists 2). The Rosetta Stone 3). Entebbe, 4) Arthur Ashe; Bonus – US Open/Wimbledon 5). 1789 6). Julius Caeser 7). Czar Nicholas II 8) Edgar Degas 9). John Dillinger 10). France and England

Suicide Squad: 1). Orleans 2). John Brown, 3). Ba’hai 4). Kuomintang 5). Seleucids 6). Ba’al 7). Saint Stephen 8). Monument to the People’s Heroes (at the confluence of Suzhuo Creek and the Huangpu River) and Longhua Martyrs Memorial 9). Nero 10). Witness

Bye Bye Pervert: 1). Elliot Spitzer 2). Theresa May 3). Minnesota 4). David Petraeus 5). Yitzhak Rabin 6). Woodward and Bernstein 7). Letitia James 8). Anthony Weiner 9). Encouraged his mistress to have an abortion despite being pro-life 10). Jacob Zuma