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 in the US and around the world, and you are (hopefully) continuing to remain vigilant, 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 recovery begins. Once things improve, I hope you enjoy small gatherings with friends and family and outdoor activities. I’m sure you’ll find these interactions meaningful and enjoyable as I have.
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Life in Shanghai
I hope that this latest update continues to find all of you staying safe, happy, and healthy. For those of you in academia, I hope that the end of the semester has gone/is going well and that you’re looking forward to a less stressful summer. For the rest of you, I hope that the weather has been nice enough that you’ve been able to take advantage of it and spend time outside running, walking, hiking, or gardening!
Before I discuss the covid-19 situation in Shanghai and China, I wanted to let you all know that I received my second shot of the Chinese Sinopharm Beijing (Beijing Biological) vaccine on Wednesday! This is the vaccine that was recently approved by the World Health Organization (the first covid-19 vaccine manufactured in China to be approved). All-in-all, the process was almost identical to my first time. I waited in line for ~ 30 minutes, then registered and paid for my vaccine (it cost ~ $15). After getting my shot I waited 30 minutes. Thankfully, fatigue was the only side effect that I felt. After getting my shot, I also got the official covid-19 vaccine documentation (there’s also digital documentation as well). So, overall, my experience was very positive! Since I rarely go to hospitals, I thought I’d share some more photos of the cute stickers set up to amuse children! Also, so far over 300 million doses of the covid-19 vaccine have been administered in China.
In terms of the actual number of cases in China, the number remains under control. In Shanghai, there are just 58 imported cases and the recovery rate is 96.76%. In Beijing, there are only 2 cases and the recovery rate is 98.95%. For China as a whole, there are just 499 active cases and the recovery rate is 94.83%. So, because China has remained vigilant about preventing the spread of covid-19, the cases have remained low even as places have opened up. However, because the numbers are so low, a lot of effort has been made to emphasize the importance of getting vaccinated, since not everyone is as concerned about it anymore (so, please get vaccinated if you haven’t already, regardless of where you live).
In terms of Astronomy this was a fairly productive week. Because of the combination of the labor day holiday (May Day) at the beginning of the week, and getting my second covid-19 shot on Wednesday, I didn’t get quite as much research done. However, my DES Stellar Mass – Halo Mass research has it’s collaboration wide review ending on Tuesday, so hopefully (assuming I don’t receive many more comments) that will allow me to submit this analysis for publication soon! Additionally, I’ve continued to work on my Luminosity Function analysis (using the mock simulations). I’m starting to have results, but unfortunately there’s still deviations between my measurements and the underlying truth (that we built in to the simulation), so I’ll have some things to work on this week for that project. Lastly, I was finally able to start working on my intra-cluster light analysis again so hopefully, I’ll start having some interesting results on that end again, soon!
Though not related to my work, on Monday, I walked by a pre-school/day care center where they had a really neat space set up (that I could see through the windows)! If I was little, I’m sure I’d have had a lot of fun!
Sadly, the weather in Shanghai has started to heat up. This weekend, every day was over 90 degrees! Even though I know that it gets very hot (and humid) in Shanghai in the summer, I wasn’t quite mentally prepared for the heat. We’re also about to enter plum rain season, where it will rain/thunderstorm for about a month, so sadly, I don’t think I’ll be doing much running this month. 🙁 Though I may not be thrilled with the heat, some are enjoying it!
Despite the oppressive heat, I still saw a ton of beautiful flowers this week!
Since it was very hot this weekend, I spent a lot of time in my apartment (where thankfully the air conditioning works much better than in my old apartment). However, I did make some time for some fun and meaningful activities. Since May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, some of my friends are organizing a series of activities and discussions to celebrate. As an ally, it’s important to attend these kind of events (as well as those supporting the black community and other minority communities), not only to support my friends, but also to help me grow and improve as a human being. The world will only get better if we all try to support and help each other.
The first of these events was a kickoff party and discussion with a member of US consulate here in Shanghai on Saturday night. The speaker shared her story of growing up in Taiwan and then her experience moving to the US as a child, her time abroad in Germany, and then her experience in the foreign service. It was very interesting hearing about her experiences working and living in different countries around the world (Germany, Egypt, China, Japan) and interacting with different political figures in many different administrations. However, for me the most important takeaways were the the similarities in terms of the values emphasized by her parents (and that she emphasizes for her children) to the values that my parents instilled in me and my brother and in stark contrast, thedifferences of sometimes feeling invisible and having to fight to be heard. I look forward to attending more of these discussions in May so that I can became both more aware of the situations that many of my friends and colleagues face and also help to better myself and be a more supportive ally.
Food in Shanghai
On Monday, to celebrate the May Day holiday, some of my friends (about 8 of us) and I went to a fantastic lunch at one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants in Shanghai, Godly!
We enjoyed so much delicious food! Bamboo shoots, kao-fu (spongy seitan), mixed vegetables, seasonal greens, tofu, mock duck (tofu skins), mixed vegetables with noodles, eggplant, dumplings, and rice noodles! I love that I can get so much delicious vegan/vegetarian food in Shanghai!
Jewish Life in Shanghai
The highlight of my week was on Friday, when Kehilat Shanghai hosted our first community Shabbat celebration at the historic Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum. This is significant because the museum is built and centered on the Ohel Moishe Synagogue, one of two remaining synagogues in Shanghai. This was the first time that any such Shabbat celebration had occurred at the Ohel Moishe Synagogue in about 70 years! In past entries, I’ve shown many photos of the newly renovated Shanghai Jewish Refugee Museum (it’s truly fantastic and I recommend visiting if you’re able to come to Shanghai).
While Kehilat Shanghai has been able to have Rosh Hashanah services and the Community B’nei Mitzvah at the synagogue in the past, this was the first time we’ve been able to gather for Shabbat here. I had the pleasure and honor of co-leading with Hannah Maia! As some of you know, I co-lead the reform minyan with Emmet our senior year at Brown, so leading Shabbat services is something I am both very comfortable with and really enjoy! We had a wonderful turnout of about 50 community members, which made this occasion all that more special. Below, you can see some photos that highlight the evening.
It was wonderful to join with so many members of the Kehilat Shanghai community to celebrate our Jewish heritage in one of the few places in Shanghai that holds both religious and historical meaning to the Jewish community! Following the service, we had a nice community dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant. So, it was both a fun and meaningful night spent with many of my friends from the Kehilat community!
Before I conclude, I do want to wish my Dad a Happy Birthday! I hope that you had a lovely birthday and even though I was only able to celebrate with you on FaceTime, I hope that you know how much I love and miss you. Thanks for being such a supportive and loving father.
Additionally, since today is Mother’s day (Happy Mother’s day to all the amazing Mom’s reading this), I wanted to wish my Mom a Happy Mother’s Day! Thank you so much for being such a loving and supportive Mom. I know that you’ll always have my back. I love and miss you!
Overall, this was a really nice and surprisingly eventful week. From getting vaccinated to the community Shabbat to the AAPI Month kickoff event, a lot happened and it was really wonderful to get to see so many of my friends in one week! This upcoming week should be more research focused, highlighted by my DES Collaboration wide review. However, I know I’ll have some fun things to share with you all as well.
I hope that you enjoyed seeing my photos from the Community Shabbat! I hope that you all have a safe, happy, and healthy week.
In peace,
Jesse
Dear Jesse,
I always enjoy waking up on Sundays to your weekly posts. And this one was great and included a Mother’s Day message, too. Thank you first and foremost for your lovely sentiments, the flowers you and Emmet chose (I love the mix of roses and snapdragons in shades of pink!), and the WWF e-card you sent, too. I am so lucky to have you (and your brother) as my sons, and I will always be in your corner. I cannot remember the last time I had one of you here for Mother’s Day, so it is a treat to have Emmet here. I do wish you could be home to celebrate with us, too. But you are doing great things in every way.
Despite the heat, Shanghai is in bloom, and that is one of the things I am most excited to see when I can safely visit, hopefully next April. I also enjoyed the cats wearing hats in the hospital photos and seeing the orange cat basking in the sun. And the photos of you and Hannah Maia leading services at the Ohel Moishe Synagogue are great. I found myself remembering you leading services at Brown with Emmet, which we always enjoyed when we came to visit. You look so comfortable at the Bima. And please tell Hannah Maia that she and I have the same lovely Four Mothers of Israel tallit.
It is great that you are continuing to be an active ally for the AAPI heritage community. My Brown class of ’78 sent me a very moving message about this very topic, and I felt proud to be ever true as I read it. I am relieved you are vaccinated and have received the approved vaccine. And your research is moving along well. And that restaurant!
I finished the semester, so I am happy about that. I enjoyed my last classes on Zoom and think my students accomplished a lot. A number of students I taught this year have signed up for my Victorian literature class in the fall! I am getting some black raspberry plants for the garden since I am low on black raspberries (lots of red and a good amount of gold). I also plan to put in potatoes this summer. We also purchased a gazebo tent for the backyard for shade, so we can have friends over for tea in a safe and socially distant space. That is in the works, so I will send you a photo when it is up. We also had a nice time celebrating your Dad’s birthday, and that is lovely what you wrote about him, too. The weather is slowly warming up, too.
Have another great week. So blessed to have you in my life as my wonderful son. I love you, and thank you for making my Mother’s Day so special, even though you are afar.
Mom
Thanks Mom! I’m so glad that you liked the flowers as well as the WWF e-card I sent you. I hope that you’re able to visit next spring, as well. I’m glad you enjoyed seeing the photos from the Shabbat service, and I’ll definitely let Hannah Maia know that you have the same tallit.
I’m glad to hear that your semester went well. I’m sure you’ll enjoy having some of the same students again as well. It sounds like you’ll be planting a lot this summer! I hope that the black raspberries prosper in the backyard.
I hope that you have a safe and healthy week!
Hi Jesse,
I’m glad you had such a great week! That’s great that you had such mild side effects for your COVID vaccine. Hopefully people will continue getting vaccinated in China. The problem in the US right now is that we have enough vaccine for everyone, but not everyone wants to get vaccinated. I’m glad that your research is going nicely! Fingers crossed that everything with your paper presentation goes smoothly on Tuesday!! I’m sure it will. Have you decided where you’ll submit it? I’m sorry it’s been so hot this weekend. It was about 50 yesterday and felt chilly with a slight drizzle. Even though it’s so hot, the flowers look amazing. I really liked the cat photo (though that cat looked really hot too) and the Astro day care. That looked like something we’d have liked as kids. Your feast at Godly looks amazing. Do you have a favorite dish? That’s so cool that you got to lead services in the Jewish museum/old synagogue. Will you get to do it again? What were the circumstances that allowed it to happen this time? I’m glad you got to show your support for the AAPI community as an ally, too! It was nice to celebrate Dad’s birthday with him in person and hopefully Mother’s Day will be nice, too! We miss having you here. I hope you have another great week. Stay safe and healthy!
Love,
Emmet
Thanks Emmet! It’s a similar problem in China, where not everyone wants to get vaccinated as well. Thanks for the well wishes about the DES paper. It’ll be submitted to either ApJ or MNRAS. The cat did look hot, but he looked happier than I do in the heat. 🙂 In terms of favorite dishes at Godly, the kaofu is fantastic. I also really liked the vegan mock duck (tofu skins) and the eggplant! Everything is great though, so I look forward to going with you!
We would like to do services there again, though it’s not up to us. We were able to do it because Josh has built a good working relationship with the people who manage the museum. So they understand who our community is.
I’m glad you got to celebrate with both Mom and Dad in person. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten to do that. Hope you stay safe and healthy!
Thanks as always for a very interesting blog, Jesse.
The photos of the flowers in the public areas are so very beautiful. Do you have any sense of whether people – in general – are involved in gardening as a way to beautify their space or is gardening viewed (if it is at all) in very instrumental ways – You grow vegetables and fruit for eating rather than flowers for color or fragrance?
Fascinating words about the synagogue at which you co-led the service. Are services not held there because the kehilah prefers to hold services elsewhere or are they not held there because the bureaucracy involved is too complex to gain permission?
Spongy seitan? That sounds very interesting. Do you know how it is made and what makes it “spongy”. May have no connection but when I gently boil my seitan for an hour the texture is quite soft and spongy compared to when I bake it.
Looks like in the US the number of adults still seeking vaccinations is dropping and it is not clear (to me) how we are going to get anywhere near 70% vaccinated. I know that some colleges are making being vaccinated a real requirement for students to be admitted to classes in the fall (Vassar, for example) but my bet is that, sadly, and bizarrely, such requirements will be subject to litigation by those who are now gaslighting the public with nonsense after nonsense after nonsense.
Stay safe and stay well. And if being well-informed is not itself all it takes not to be gas lighted (because that process attacks our sense of ourselves and makes us doubt what we think we know, being well -informed is still far more helpful than its opposite.
Thanks Bernard! Gardening is definitely viewed as intentionally beautifying the city. In terms of the location of the service, it’s mostly because there is a lot of bureaucracy involved in getting access to the synagogue. However, we’re hopefully that we’ll be able to use the space again.
The Kaofu is fantastic. It’s the Chinese term for seitan. It’s made by taking wheat gluten and water, turning that into a dough, then washing and scrubbing the dough. Generally, it’s then braised with mushrooms. I’m trying to find a recipe and will share one if I do! Your seitan sounds nice, too!
I would love to see more colleges/universities require vaccination, since it’s the best way to protect students. I agree that legislation/litigation will sadly be needed. Hope you continue to stay safe and healthy.
Two very quick comments.
Re the vaccinations and the possible 100 percent requirement by some colleges to permit a return to in-class teaching. I suspect that the litigation will go the other way – that right wing groups will fight this rule in courts to claim that colleges and universities are over stepping to make such demands and given the veltenschauung in the courts they may win… much to the detriment of public health.
The other comment is about the spongy seitan. It’s the idea that there is a spongier version of seitan that fascinates me. I make mine with gluten and add spices (onion and garlic powder, cumin or curry powder . and salt (1 t of each ). I also add 1 t of baking powder (to help it “rise” a little) and and to 1 cup of the gluten I add about 1 T of nutritional yeast. The liquid I use is water plus about 1- 2 T of soy to make about 3/4 cup of liquid and add more (or less) depending on the feel of the “dough”. I knead for a few minutes by hand and then let rest for 30 minutes to an hour and then bake (wrapped in aluminum) at 350 F for 60 minutes or cut into pieces and gently boil in stock for 60 minutes (for a softer , more tender version).
Hi Bernard. Sadly, I think you’re right about litigation in terms of vaccination. For the seitan (kaofu), it’s made differently than your approach. I found a link that describes the process (it doesn’t seem that hard). Let me know what you think!
https://www.guaishushu1.com/shanghai-four-happiness-appetizer-dish-%EF%BC%88%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E6%9C%AC%E5%B8%AE%E8%8F%9C%E4%B9%8B%EF%BC%9A%E5%9B%9B%E5%96%9C%E7%83%A4%E9%BA%B8%EF%BC%89/
Wow! I have never thought about adding yeast to the gluten. I think what I will do is allow the yeast to proof using a small amount of sugar in the water and then when the yeast is active (I don’t use instant yeast) I will mix in the gluten and make the seitan more or less as I normally do. I wonder, though, whether my normal practice of adding a teaspoon of baking powder comes from the same thinking as adding the yeast. Gotta try this. Thanks for the recipe, Jesse, and the great idea.
Jesse, Thank you for the Mother’s Day wish. It was a lovely day.
I enjoyed your blog and pictures very much. I was surprised to see a welcome sign in English on the door of the clinic with the children’s pictures. Do many Americans go there?
The flowers look beautiful and the food looks delicious. How long have you been vegan? It seems that there are more vegan choices there than in the states, but maybe it is just the restaurants where we choose to eat. Take care and good luck with your research.
Monna
Hi Monna! Thanks! Glad to hear that you enjoyed this entry. While some of the hospital workers spoke english, this was definitely a local hospital, so I’m not sure if many foreigners would go. However, lots of Chinese children learn some basic english, so they would likely understand the signs (though almost all signage is exclusively in Chinese).
I’ve been vegan since I was in grad school, so about 5 years. Emmet and I were both raised as vegetarians and then in grad school slowly transitioned away from drinking milk and eating cheese. It’s great to hear that there are more vegan options (especially in upstate NY)! Hope you continue to stay safe and healthy!