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Life in Shanghai
I’m sure many of you are very aware about the coronavirus outbreak in China. So, I want to start this post by reassuring you that I am healthy and I am taking all the required safety precautions. For the most part I am staying in my apartment. However, every time I go outside I am avoiding crowds, wearing a mask and gloves, and washing my hands when I return in doors. I now have three masks. One is temporary and only good for a few more hours outside, but the other two are fine for another 4-6 months each, so I think I’m fine on that front. I know many of you have reached out to my parents or me directly to see how I am doing. I really appreciate all the love and support that I’m receiving in this nerve wracking time. Thank you for thinking of me.
Since my last update the number of cases of the coronavirus has continued to grow in China. Thankfully, the Chinese government appears to be doing a good job containing the virus as the majority of people who are sick are in Wuhan. I think that this is one of the times were there is a real tangible benefit to the authoritarian state here in China. The government can much more easily control where people go and where doctors are sent than in the US.
Here in Shanghai, there have been ~ 200 cases and nearly all of them are people who had either been to Wuhan or had interacted with people who had been to Wuhan. Statistically, this is an incredibly small number for a city with 27 million people (even if a fraction of the population is out of town for the lunar new year holiday). As my boss Prof. Zu told me, the draconian practices of the Shanghai municipal government seem to be working. Wet markets have been shut down, subways and public spaces are frequently disinfected, and schools/universities have remained closed. SJTU is currently closed and the start of the semester (February 15th) has been postponed indefinitely. However, many stores and restaurants are open, so the city is not entirely shutdown.
So, you may be wondering why am I still in China and am I scared? I’m not going to lie and say that I am fearless and completely at ease. While there have been a few times I’ve freaked out about not knowing what to do (as my parents will attest), for the most part, I feel that Shanghai is safe and not heavily impacted by the virus. I received reassurance from my boss Prof. Zu, that everything is fine in Shanghai. I’ve also talked with many friends (mostly Kehilat members) who are also staying in Shanghai. So, it’s very reassuring to know that I’m not alone (even though it can be lonely). Another reason I haven’t left is that I’m not convinced that going to an airport (where there will undoubtedly be large crowds) and being on an airplane for 12+ hours will actually be safe/healthy. Additionally, I don’t really want to deal with the potential of quarantine if I return to the US. I’d rather remain here in my apartment, where I’m more comfortable.
So, since I’ve remained here, what exactly has it been like living in a self-imposed quarantine. While that is not a sentence I ever expected to be writing, it hasn’t been as terrible as it sounds. This past week I had the benefit of watching tons of fabulous tennis during the Australian open and more importantly, I’ve had a lot of time to make progress on my DES project (the final portion of my dissertation) as well as on my research based on my conversation with Song Huang. So, I’ve set the audacious goal of having the DES paper submitted to the collaboration and having a draft of the other paper written by the time that work at SJTU resumes (which hopefully will be in a few weeks). So, maybe I will get something positive out of this experience. 🙂
Additionally, Kate & Kimi, the grocery delivery service that I use is fully operational, so I have a fridge stocked full of vegetables, fruit, and veggie products. I’ve done lots of cooking so I also have homemade spicy peanut soup, coucous salad, and apple sauce bread (Thanks for the recipe Mom!).
While the recommendation is to remain inside, I have gone outside a few times. Mostly to pick up more masks (the blue one above) and to buy some fruit, soap, and kitchen essentials or take out the trash. When I went to the grocery store, a security guard took my temperature with a digital thermometer before I was allowed in. So, people are taking precautions. Additionally, I met up with friends from Kehilat (more on that later) and went on a tour with Historic Shanghai. Even though my life has been greatly altered by the coronavirus, I haven’t become a shut-in never leaving my apartment.
The two main things that I miss are the social camaraderie of working in an office and getting to go running. While I could run wearing a mask, I find that I have a harder time breathing when I wear them while walking, so I don’t want to risk it. As a result, I’ve done more crunches, pushups, mountain climbers, and jumping jacks in my apartment on my yoga mat than I would like too, but it’s better than nothing. I’m still trying to stay fit and healthy through this crisis.
As I noted earlier, I went on a walking tour of the historic buildings along the Bund that make up the former French, US, and British concessions with Historic Shanghai on Thursday. I also learned that Bund is just a Indian-British term used to describe the embankment along a river. Additionally, for those of you curious, Patrick and Tina who run the group have lived in Shanghai since 1997 (including during the SARS outbreak) and Patrick is also a Brown alum (Ever true!). So I know that if they’re still leading tours each week, that it’s safe for me to be outside .
The Tour began at a hotel, where there were two magnificent lions!
You can see some of the recognizable Bund landmarks in the background.
There are a ton of very interesting older buildings that were built in the Art Deco style. At times it feels like I’m walking around in an episode of Batman the Animated Series. 🙂
The old YMCA! 
We also saw the outside of a few churches that were built in the early 20th century. While beautiful, it feels weird to see a European style church in China.
We ended the tour at Yuyuan (near the gardens). There were really fantastic Chinese New Year decorations up. One disappointing thing though is that the lantern festival, which is due to start next week, will likely not happen, so I guess I have something to look forward to next year.
Mickey Mouse for year of the Rat!
I’m really glad that I joined Historic Shanghai for the walk. It was really nice to talk to people and be out of my apartment. I’m thinking of doing another walk later this week.
In terms of other social activities, on Saturday, I got together with my friend Shimi and some of his friends for a game night. While there was still a lot of conversation about the coronavirus, it was a lot of fun relaxing over rounds of cards against humanity, exploding kittens, and quirkle! Also, during the game night, Shimi was interviewed for Israeli TV, calmly talking about the situation in China and why he’s staying in Shanghai!
Food in Shanghai
Despite the coronavirus, some restaurants are open. AIthough neither was very crowded. I had two meals out. On Thursday, after the walk, the Historic Shanghai group went to lunch. Thankfully, Patrick was able to order some vegetarian options for me (and another vegetarian). 🙂 We had seitan, tofu skin noodles, greens, and mushrooms with bok choy.
Then on Saturday, I met my friend and fellow Kehilat member Barbara for lunch at Vegetarian Lifestyle. This is one of my favorite vegan/vegetarian restaurants. We had gluten balls with vegetables, matsutake mushroom dumplings, crispy sword beans, seitan and vegetable curry, and crispy bamboo!
My favorites were the dumplings and the curry! The food was fantastic!
Overall, despite being in a state of semi-self-imposed quarantine this week, it was a good week. It has been very comforting to see that so many of the people that I know here in Shanghai (many of whom like Patrick, Tina, Barbara, and Shimi, have lived in China for years) are staying in Shanghai. This has really helped to reaffirm my decision not to flee.
I hope that my update about what is happening in Shanghai (with respect to the coronavirus) has reassured you about my health and safety. Hopefully a cure will be discovered soon so life can return to a semblance of normalcy. I hope that you enjoyed my food photos and pictures from the Bund. This upcoming week will hopefully feature some more research progress. I look forward to sharing my upcoming adventures with you all! If you have any questions/comments about Shanghai or my safety, let me know!
In peace,
Jesse
I’m glad to hear that you haven’t gotten too stir crazy being stuck in your apartment. I’m very glad to hear that you’re staying safe, but also able to do something fun. I love those pictures of the dragons! I totally agree about the Art Deco style reminding you of Batman the Animated series. I’m sorry that they’re cancelling the lantern festival. Maybe they’ll reschedule once the city is up and running again. I hope you continue to stay safe in the coming weeks and are able to be super productive this week. Good luck with the papers!
Hi Emmet! Thanks. I’m glad I haven’t gone stir crazy yet either. The “dragons” I believe are lions, for the traditional lion dance. They were really cool! I think the lantern festival is a traditional holiday, so it probably won’t be rescheduled :(, but who knows. I hope it does, but I can always go next year!
Stay safe! A fascinating account, but I certainly wish you weren’t experiencing this ordeal. As you say, though, lots of dissertation writing time!
Thanks Barbara! I wish I wasn’t experiencing this, too.
Also, to clarify, I’m already done with my dissertation (it was submitted in May)! However, the last chapter featured research that I hadn’t finished yet. That’s the research that I’m finishing up now.
Great note. Stay well.
Go Blue!
Thanks Steve! Go Blue!!
Stay well, Jesse. The food dishes look and sound incredible. I make seitan often but I have yet to be able to make it so that the gluten chains act, look and have a meat-like texture.
I don’t want to sound like Pollyanna but while corona virus is frightening health authorities I wonder if this fear is more panic-like than anything rational. Flu occurs every year and 43 million people were infected in 2019 in the USA alone of these , 61,200 people died last year of flu or illnesses caused by that virus. But we don’t generally panic when people we know go down witn the flu. That doesn’t mean that one should not take every precaution when it coms to corona virus, as you are doing, but it does suggest that we all perhaps need to put this viral outbreak into a different perspective.
Strikes me there are three issues surrounding this illness 1. Medical authorities never saw this coming (an unexpected surprise can be shocking) and so were unprepared 2. We really do not know how this virus is transmitted. Is it by contact (mouth to hand to next person? Or through the air by sneezing and coughing? CDC suggests that the virus has a very short lifespan when it arrives on surfaces like door handles and envelopes. 3. At this time there is no vaccine to either treat or prevent this infection but it looks to be relatively self limiting among people with immune systems that are not otherwise compromised.
Hi Bernerd! Having been a lifelong vegetarian/vegan, I’m not entirely sure whether the seitan has a meat like texture. However, it is different and mostly better here. Clearly they know what they’re doing in China with seitan, since they invented it! 🙂
I agree with your statements about the coronavirus completely. I’m much more scared by the lack of a cure than by the numbers, but the numbers are publicized in a way that leads to panic. I’ve talked with a lot of people and we usually compare the flu this year in the US. However, we rarely see articles publicizing how many people die from the flu each year.
I admire your grace under pressure, Jesse (or at least your ability to fake it convincingly). The NYTimes offered some encouraging numbers this morning, especially regarding the recovery rate. Hang in there!
Hi Mason! Thanks for the support! The recovery rate is much higher than the number of fatalities, which is reassuring.
Great to hear you’re staying safe Jesse! It’s great you’ve been able to enjoy the historic shanghai group, and get a lot of work done! When the Australian Open ends, are there any anime you’ll be watching? MHA is still soooooo good every episode!
Hi Ryan! Thanks! I’m glad I’m able to be productive here, too. It would be super frustrating if I couldn’t do any work. The Australian Open ended Sunday afternoon. So, I am watching more anime. I have 1 more episode of One Punch Man. I’m also watching My Hero Academia, which I agree is fantastic! Other than that I’m watching the Toonami slate, which is Black Clover, Food Wars, Fire Force, Dr. Stone, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Sword Art Online. As a fellow scientist, I think you’ld really like Dr. Stone.
Hey Jesse! Thank you for keeping us posted on your continued good health and the situation in Shanghai. We are all so thrilled to hear that you are safe and keeping a positive attitude!!!
Hi Peri! Thanks so much for the support. Positivity, seems like the best way to make the most out of this situation. 🙂
Dear Jesse,
I always love reading your posts. I am so impressed by how well you are making the best of a challenging situation. I wish that it were possible to travel the way characters do in Harry Potter, and you could magically be in the US without the hazards of travel and likely a quarantine when you would arrive. So since that mode of travel is the stuff of fantasy, staying put makes sense to me, especially given all the precautions you are taking. I am so glad you were able to make the applesauce bread–it is a keeper! Keep up all your crunches, and keep being so productive with your articles. I miss you and think of you so much–sending love, Mom
Hi Mom! Thanks so much for the kind words of support! I wish that I had instant transmission or flume powers as well. The applesauce bread is very yummy! I’ll definitely be making it again. I’m hoping to make more progress on the papers this week and will update you soon!
Jesse, I really enjoy reading your posts. Thank you for sharing! I am so happy to hear that you remain healthy and positive. I loved the photos of your tour and the delicious looking food! I too love curry and tennis! It is great that you have this time to work on your research and writing. You are an excellent writer!
Stay well,
Peg
Hi Peg! I’m glad to hear that you’re enjoying my blog and that you enjoyed the photos from this past week. I’m doing my best to keep my positive attitude, since it’s probably the best way for me to remain productive during this difficult time. Thanks for the complement about my writing. I haven’t done a tone of this kind of writing before, but I’m having a lot of fun doing it!
Also, thanks for sharing the blog with Art as well!