Hi Everyone! Welcome back to Astronomer in Shanghai. I hope that you are all doing well and staying safe and healthy. I hope that all of you had a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season and had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends. Moreover, I hope that all of you continue to stay safe and healthy in the coming year. Additionally, for those of you celebrating, I wanted to wish you a Happy Lunar New Year!
Before sharing some of the more enjoyable and interesting things that happened this month, I do want to begin by discussing the current COVID-19 situation in China. For those of you who are interested in China, I highly recommend the Drum Tower podcast from The Economist. In my last post, I described how China swiftly dismantled and removed all of the policies associated with COVID-Zero (mandatory testing, lockdowns, travel restrictions within China). As such, there were no restrictions remaining (in terms of testing requirements) for most of day-to-day life. I haven’t been tested in ~ 6 weeks, which given that for the previous 8 months I was tested at least 1 time per week and often 3 times per week feels very strange. Some places, such as nursing homes, still require tests though. The removal of these policies lead to swift and large waves of COVID-19 spreading around China (with early surges in Shanghai and Beijing). Thankfully, I have been able to avoid getting sick (though that’s because I was extremely cautious and rarely left my apartment during the month or so). On the positive side, it seems as though the wave has past its peak in both Shanghai and Beijing, so things are slowly returning to normal. In fact, the only remnant of COVID-19 is that masks still remain prominent. It’s somewhat surreal now that I don’t have to scan a QR code to enter a store, restaurant, or a park (yes, even outdoors, we had to scan to enter public parks). While I’m still remaining cautious and vigilant, I’ll probably begin doing some of the activities (like going to the gym or restaurants) that I was previously doing soon. That said, it’s still entirely unclear to me whether this means that I’ll be going to campus in the Spring Semester, as SJTU still plans for some sort of hybrid model.
The other important update is that on January 8th, China removed any required quarantine to enter the country. They only require a negative PCR test. As of now, tourist visas are not being issued though. As a result of the surging cases here, the US and other countries put a similar requirement for a negative PCR test before the flight. Thus, after 3 years of either 2 week or longer quarantines (which were shortened in the last year), people no longer need to plan weeks long hotel stays upon entering China. While this is exciting, it’s not exactly a return to normal because the number of international flights remains far lower than it was in 2019. Moreover, flights to the US remain rather expensive and are still infrequent as most US and international airlines only operate 2-3 flights per week. It’s currently ~ $4,000+ for an economy seat to the US (estimated during February, which is not a peak travel time). When I flew to Shanghai in 2019 fora conference (prior to my move) in July (peak travel season), the flight was ~ $1,100. At that time, I had multiple (10+) options per day (spread across 3-4 airlines). Since I’m planning to move to my next position this summer, I haven’t been in a rush to spend tons of money to rush home. That said, it’s good to see things beginning to return to normal, as not being able to see my parents over the last 3.5 years in person has been one of the most challenging and frustrating parts of my time living in Shanghai.
Despite the vast number of cases, it does appear as though China will be celebrating the Lunar New Year/Spring Festival in a much more normal manner. Ironically, this will be the first “regular” Lunar New Year celebration that I get to see (as COVID-19 emerged during my first year). From what I can tell, not much has changed, there’s still tons of decorations (you’ll see that later) and lots of lanterns. While I’m glad that people are able to celebrate, I do share concerns (that are discussed on the latest episode of Drum Tower) about what the continued spread of COVID-19 will do to the rural parts of China where access to medical care, vaccines, and doctors remain far scarcer than what is available here in Shanghai or Beijing. Moreover, Emmet’s shared with me that Beijing is providing a fourth booster shot to residents (including foreigners), but no such option has been made available in Shanghai. My last shot was on 1/26/2022, almost exactly 1 year from today, so hopefully this will happen soon.
Astronomy in Shanghai
In terms of Astronomy, this was a productive month. The semester ended ~ 1.5 weeks ago, so it’s been a bit more relaxed since, which after all the job applications was definitely needed. That said, I did submit a few more applications this month. I’ve now applied for 39 positions (there are a few more I may apply for that are due at the beginning of February as well). Thankfully, I’ve already had a few interviews (and have a few more scheduled), all of which I thought went very well. While I’m currently waiting to hear from those positions, it is reassuring to know that I’ve made the interview stage for multiple positions already (so people clearly think I’m doing good and interesting science). Hopefully by the time I write next month’s posts, I’ll have a sense of where I’ll be going next!
Other than interviews and postdoc applications, a lot of my time was spent writing/editing my research papers. As I mentioned last month, I was all set to submit my conditional luminosity function paper when one of our collaborators asked us to use an updated version of the cluster catalog. Thankfully, with some help from another co-author (an SJTU grad student, who has been very helpful on this project), I was able to redo the analysis in ~ 1-2 weeks. Even better, very little changed, which was good. Moreover, we also posted the paper on arXiv so that I could share it with the positions I was applying for. I’ve since finalized the paper and am waiting for any feedback from the co-authors before submitting (likely after the lunar new year).
While I’ve talked about the work that I was doing on this paper for a while, I wanted to provide a brief summary on what this research is about. I’m currently working on an education/public outreach article on this paper and will share it when it’s available. This paper measures the conditional luminosity function (CLF) of galaxies within clusters. In laments terms, this is a number counting of galaxies with a given brightness within galaxy clusters (divided into samples of clusters with the same halo mass). In our analysis, we compare two different cluster catalogs that are identified either using red galaxies (the red sequence/redMaPPer) or the overdensity of all galaxies (the Yang catalog). We also use a sample of clusters cross-identified between the two catalogs for comparison. It’s important to compare the two cluster catalogs because differences in how clusters are identified can lead to biases (particularly in cosmological measurements). We then measure the CLF for the two cluster samples and see that significant differences in the shape and slope between the CLF measured for each of the catalogs exist. However, when we compare the clusters with cross-matches to those without along with the measurements of the matched clusters using both centers, we see that much of this difference is a result of the difference in the cluster’s choice of center. Moreover, when we compare the weak lensing estimated halo masses (the total mass of these clusters), we don’t see any significant difference, which suggests that there’s no strong underlying bias in the catalogs. So, even though the galaxy content is sensitive to the cluster’s centering, the actual halo mass is not.
In addition to wrapping up this paper, I also resubmitted my paper on the stellar properties of the ICL done using DES-ACT clusters! The revisions were very straightforward, but because of all the applications, it was hard to find time to finish everything. The paper was previously accepted with revisions, so once the paper is published, I’ll make sure to share a link again here.
In addition to my research and applications, at the beginning of January, I also did remote observing for DESI (my third time). Unfortunately, I had terrible luck with the weather. The first night it was raining. The second night the dome was still dripping, so we were unable to open. The third night had some dripping, but we were able to open for half of my shift. Lastly, the 4th night had terrible clouds (which you can see). Thankfully, this was virtual observing (and due to the time difference I didn’t have to stay up all night). While we were able to do some calibrations, it was disappointing to not be able to help to take more data. Hopefully my next observing run (in the spring) will have better weather
Despite this being yet another month where I was exclusively working from home, I still was able to be productive. As I look forward to the Spring semester, I hope that I’m able to go into campus with some degree of regularity (and without restrictions). As a result of all the restrictions/testing requirements/covid cases, It’s been almost 11 months since I was going into campus with any regularity (outside of a 3 week stretch in November, which still required registration and testing). Moreover, of the time I’ve worked at SJTU, 40 months, I’ve only been able to actually go in to campus without restrictions for 22 of those months (which includes 6-7 months of summers/lunar new year). So, despite COVID-Zero preventing cases, it wasn’t as though life was normal. I hope that I’ll get a few more opportunities to interact with colleagues and see the campus (and maybe pick up an SJTU t-shirt) during the next few months.
Life in Shanghai
As a result of the combination of the COVID-19 surge and working on my papers/applications, there wasn’t a lot of fun stuff. I even stopped going to F45. While the trainers are doing a great job cleaning and people are allowed to wear masks, I wanted to wait until the case numbers had passed the peak before going back to an in person gym as it seemed like almost everyone I knew other than myself and Emmet got sick. Hopefully I’ll start going to the gym again in the next few weeks.
The non-Astronomy highlight of the month was that it snowed in Shanghai! While the snow didn’t really stick, it was so magical to see it snow in Shanghai (it hasn’t snowed when I’ve been awake during my time here and I really miss snow). So, before I show you all the cool Chinese New Year decorations, I hope you enjoy Shanghai in the snow!
While this can only be generously called a light dusting, it’s more snow than I’ve seen in years (since my trip to Harbin) and it was so much fun (and relaxing) to go for a nice walk in the snow! Since it was a little hard to see in many of the photos, I wanted to share the videos as well!
The primary highlight of this month was all the lovely lunar new year decorations! My favorite part of the Lunar New Year is seeing all the decorations! In particular I love the red lanterns that are in front of so many buildings!
This upcoming year is the year of the Rabbit! So, it’s been so cute to see all the different Rabbit statues, posters, and sculptures! One of my favorite things about this holiday is seeing the different decorations that appear each year!
I’m also eagerly looking forward to going to the Yu Gardens (Yuyuan) for their Lantern Festival Display in the coming week or two and will definitely have lots of photos to share once I do!
In addition to the fun and festive Lunar New Year I also saw a lot of other cool things! Most notably, all of the cat statues I had previously seen around Xuhui district were gathered in one area!
I had to highlight the Magritte cat though! There were also a lot of other cool things that I saw on my walks that I wanted to share!
Also, for the first time in awhile, I saw some anime/cartoon things out in the wild! During one of my walks, I popped into Uniqlo, where they had some awesome One Piece and Naruto t-shirts as well as some fun Looney Tunes t-shirts, in the spirit of the Year of the Rabbit! Emmet and I already have a Luffy t-shirt, so I got us the Zoro one!
Scottie and Charlie
This was another great month for Scottie and Charlie! With me spending so much time at home, my boys got all the treats and cuddles that they wanted. Plus, they were very attentive and even let me sleep in when I was under the weather (I had a cold/soar throat, I didn’t test positive for covid) towards the middle of December.
Of course, Scottie and Charlie are most adorable when they’re snuggled right on top of one another! It makes me so happy that they continue to be best friends!
They also continue to find new fun perches and places to explore (including my back)! Charlie especially loves to sit on my back when I’m working. And though there’s no pictures, there’s nothing quite like doing pushups, crunches, or planks with a cat (often Scottie) trying to sleep on top of you.
One fun thing for Scottie and Charlie was that earlier this month, my air conditioning heating stopped working so I had to use my floor heating (which is better, but much more expensive). Scottie and Charlie absolutely loved lounging on the floor and basking in the warmth!
They usually spend most of their time napping and are always so adorable when doing so!
Food in Shanghai
Unsurprisingly, I didn’t go out for any meals this month. However, I did do a lot of great cooking! Since it was cool, I made a lot of soups! I made corn and potato chowder (using the Lunchroom’s recipe, the Lunchroom is one of my favorite vegan restaurants in Ann Arbor), Thai red curry, a fantastic minestrone soup, and lastly, a creamy tomato soup! I also made two dishes that Emmet shared from the Vegans of Beijing cooking classes. The first was the noodle soup and the second was a pan roasted potato and pepper dish. Both were fantastic and different from the food I’ve ordered at Chinese restaurants before. I also made homemade bread again! And interestingly, Charlie is super interested in bread! I gave him little bits to nibble on, which he really enjoyed! Scottie also likes to eat it, but he doesn’t follow it around like Charlie does. Lastly, I made vegan meatballs and baked “fried” tofu for lunch. Lastly, for dessert, I made chocolate oreo fomu (Fomu is a vegan ice cream company in Boston that Emmet introduced me to) and a chocolate covered peanut butter/oat bar!
So, despite spending the month at home, I had lots of good food to enjoy!
Additionally, as part of my own celebrations for Lunar New Year, I wanted to make some vegan Chinese food! Using recipes that Emmet learned in his Chinese cooking classes from Vegans of Beijing, I made mapo tofu filled Baozi (steamed buns)! I also made mapo tofu and fish flavored mushrooms (they’re called fish flavored because the sauce used on the mushrooms is commonly used in fish dishes, but doesn’t contain fish)! I look forward to being able to share these and other recipes with family and friends in the coming year!
Jewish Life in Shanghai
This was another quieter month in terms of Kehilat Shanghai. We unfortunately had to cancel our Channukkah party because of the covid-19 outbreak. We had ~ 15-20 RSVPs a few days beforehand and almost all of the planned attendees ended up getting sick. So, while it was disappointing to cancel it, it was the right decision. Despite that, I still tried my best to make it an enjoyable Channukah!
The highlights were probably Charlie and Scottie’s curiosity about the menorah. They didn’t try to sniff it, but spent a lot of time staring at it! The other highlight was that I made homemade latkes for the first time! It was much easier thanks to my food processors grater. 🙂 And totally vegan! I’ll definitely do it again next year!
Even though we haven’t been able to have any in person gatherings (due to the COVID-19 surge and many people traveling for the Lunar New Year holiday, Emmet and I have continued to co-lead Zoom Shabbat services each Friday for the Kehillat Beijing and Kehilat Shanghai communities. While the attendance isn’t large, it’s been a really nice way to reflect on the week! That said, I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to have in person Shabbat services and dinners and other events next month.
What I’m Reading and Watching
Since I spent the entire month mostly at home, it’s not that surprising that I’ve watched a bit of TV (plus it helps to relax after the job application submission). Some of the highlights included finishing the first half of Doom Patrol Season 4. Doom Patrol is based on the DC Comics series and follows the misadventures of a group of superheros who have been shunned by society because of their weird superpowers. I’ve loved each of the seasons and this one is off to another strong start. I also finished the 2nd season of Jack Ryan. While there is definitely a glorification of the military/military intelligence/CIA going on, John Krasinski does a great job in the starring role and it provides an entertaining story. I also finished the 3rd season of Ozark. This season was incredibly dark and the whole situation appears particularly dire for the Byrd family. It’ll be interesting to see just how dark the end of the show is. At this point, there’s really nobody who is redeemable and worth rooting for.
I also watched two movies. I watched Glass Onion on New Year’s Eve. I really enjoyed Knives Out and found this to be an equally fun (and somewhat goofy movie). While the whodunnit portion of the mystery wasn’t really that difficulty to figure out, it was a lot of fun to see all the clues come together and featured a number of strong performances. I also watched Black Adam, the latest DC Comics movie. This was another fun and action packed film. While the story could have been more developed, the action and visual effects were great and made for a fun watch!
In terms of reading, I haven’t finished any new books yet. I’m currently working through the 4th book in the Witcher series: Time of Contempt. I’m really enjoying it (as I have the others). As a fan of the TV shows, it’s interesting to see how divergent the books and show are as there’s a lot of political machinations and side stories not included in the show.
This upcoming month should be fun and have a lot of interesting things for me to share. Most importantly, I’m planning to finally visit Beijing and see Emmet at the beginning of February!!! Despite Emmet and I living in the same country, the travel restrictions Tsinghua and SJTU had put in place made it rather impossible for us to travel, so I’m eager to see Emmet, meet his cat Goldie, and see Beijing (and then have him visit Shanghai in March). There are also a few exhibits and the Yu Gardens Lantern Festival that I hope to visit. On the opposite end of the spectrum, this will also be the start of more of my friends moving from Shanghai, as I have a few more friends leaving each of the next few months.
If you’ve gotten this far, thank you for reading my blog and for your interest in my life and experiences in Shanghai. It’s always so nice to hear either directly (or from my parents) that so many of you are thinking about Emmet and me. I hope that you found this update interesting and that you’ve enjoyed seeing all the photos of Scottie and Charlie and the Lunar New Year decorations. If you have any questions about anything I’ve written don’t hesitate to reach out either in the comments or via e-mail.
For any of you celebrating Lunar New Year! 新年快乐! Happy New Year! I hope you all have a wonderful Year of the Rabbit!
In peace,
Jesse
