Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 hopefully continues to keep many of you socially distancing, I hope that my blog illustrates that once the world recovers from this outbreak (which is not now in the US), things will improve. You should all treasure the small daily interactions. In Shanghai, life has returned to a new normal. The recovery timeline for Shanghai is not applicable to the US and new outbreaks may still occur. However, we are all in this together and if we wear masks and cooperate with social distancing guidelines things will improve.
If you find my blog interesting or enjoyable, 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 how I’ve dealt with covid-19 or my life in Shanghai, please ask. Instructions are on the “To Comment” page. Also, please share this blog with anyone who needs reassurance that eventually life will return to a semblance of normalcy.
Life in Shanghai
I hope that all of you reading this continue to remain safe and healthy. Regardless of where you live I hope that you’re wearing masks when you’re outside and are following social distancing guidelines. If you chose to do anything to mark the 4th of July, I hope that you and your family were smart and stayed safe. Please continue to take covid-19 seriously and remain vigilant.
Even though Saturday was the 4th of July, it’s hard to feel proud about being an American right now. I don’t know if it’s a combination of living abroad or the multi-national diversity among my group of friends, but it’s becoming exceedingly difficult to view the current situation in the US with any sort of hope or positivity. The combination of events over the last few months have led to the point where I (as well as some of my other ex-pat friends) feel shame to be American. It’s increasingly apparent that the current administration has failed to protect the health and well-being of the American people and that instead of admitting their failures, they’ve chosen to give up in hopes for a magic cure. Additionally, instead of trying to unite the country the current administration seeks only to incite division. Being in Shanghai, I don’t access everything that’s happening in the US at the same time (due to the time difference); however, it’s very concerning that every time I wake up I see reports that the number of cases is continuing to rise in many states and that those states and the government are doing little in response. While I’m heartened that my family and friends tell me that they’re wearing masks and remaining socially distant, it’s very scary to know that this is not the case for the majority of people in the US. While I know it seems draconian to enforce mask wearing (which was done in Shanghai in January, February, and March) I feel like unless either states or at least businesses insist on people wearing masks nothing will change. It’s also incredibly embarrassing when I hear people complain about being told to wear a mask. It’s so easy and does not impact your ability to breath (I do it when I run). Even though I’m sure many of you are approaching this situation with extreme caution, I implore you to talk to your friends and neighbors and try to convince them that the only way things can improve is if we as a country take this seriously and start wearing masks, actually following social distance guidelines, and stop being selfish and acting with only our interests in mind.
The situation in China has continued to move in the right direction. While Beijing is still shutdown and 14 day quarantines are required for anyone who travels to the capitol, over the last week, there have been very few new cases. In Beijing there are now 328 cases (up just 17 from last week). In Shanghai, there have been a few more imported cases and the total is currently 28. This makes the recovery rate 95.1% in Shanghai and 93.9% in China as a whole. So, as you can see from the example in Beijing, if the government chose to take strict and swift action, the outbreaks can be quelled and reduced in a matter of weeks.
In terms of my research this was a productive and eventful week. I spent a lot of time working on my DES research and on the Luminosity Function Research. I finally solved part of the bug with the Luminosity Function, so I’m now working on running/implementing the solution. But, progress is good and it feels great to have figured out why the shape I measured wasn’t correct. I also have begun doing more DESI research identifying the clusters whose central galaxies are not covered by DESI as potential secondary targets. So, I’ve had my research focus split in multiple directions. On top of that on Tuesday, I had the opportunity to present at the Harvard Center for Astrophysics’ Galaxy Cluster group meeting (via Zoom). It was great having my brother in attendance! I thought my presentation went very well and it was really nice hearing positive feedback and thoughtful questions about my research. 🙂 This week I’ll have another presentation as well since I recently joined the 300 collaboration (a team that uses simulations to study galaxy clusters and other astrophysical phenomena) and they’re having a group meeting all week. Thankfully, the 300 collaboration is based in Spain, so my talk is at a comfortable 4:45 pm China time! 🙂 On top of all that, we had our regular Zu Group meetings, SJTU Colloquium, and AstroCoffee. So, it was a very eventful week.
Much to my surprise, on Tuesday and Wednesday we had low humidity! Which was amazing!! It was warm, but it was so comfortable to go running when I wasn’t dripping with sweat after the first mile. Overall, I was able to go for 3 runs this week! I am going to start looking for a gym soon, since it’s pretty clear that this is not the norm (this coming week is thunderstorms every day). Below you can see some of the highlights from my runs and walks this week, including some very cute cats!
Additionally, I also wanted to share some photos of neighborhoods near where I live. If you look closely at the food market, you can see a humongous zucchini/cucumber! I have no idea how you would cook or eat that! These photos highlight that there are still parts of Shanghai that feel small and less like a cosmopolitan city.
Despite all of my work, this was a very fun week! On Wednesday, my friend Hannah Maia and I made Lychee jam! While it was lots of fun making Peach jam with my friend Heather, this was a completely new experience, since it’s something I’ve never had before and a flavor that even my Mom hasn’t made (and she’s made all the good flavors!).
To make lychee jam, we first removed the skin from the outside of the lychees (you can’t eat the skin, it’s spiky) and pitted them. Then we smushed the lychees and added some lemon juice. Lychees are very juicy, so the mixture was much more liquidy. Then we began cooking the jam, adding sugar and pectin. Lychees have no natural pectin, so we had to add a ton of pectin to get the jam to solidify. We ended up reboiling it, since we realized after we initially jarred it we needed more pectin.
Overall, we were left with some very pretty and yummy jam! While it may not look like much, those are 2 500ml jars. My Mom’s normal jam jar is 100ml, so it’s a good amount. My main conundrum is what to do with lychee jam. Lychees are a very sweet and interestingly textured fruit that definitely wouldn’t work on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich so, I guess I’ll be experimenting with some deserts!
On top of jam making, I had a very social weekend! On Friday night, Heather organized a surprise birthday party for Shimi (which was great, because he was actually surprised!). Then on Saturday, Heather and Shimi organized a 4th of July vegetarian potluck! I’ll save a discussion of the amazing food for later. While I don’t think any of the three Americans in attendance felt particularly patriotic, the 4th of July was just an excuse to get together and enjoy each others company. It was great spending Friday night and Saturday hanging out with friends and having interesting conversations on topics ranging from Black Lives Matter and the covid-19 situation in the US to improv comedy, tennis, music and food! I continue to be grateful to have found some a warm and fun-spirited group of friends!
Food in Shanghai
On Friday (before the surprise party), Hannah Maia and I ordered vegetarian Chinese food. Hannah Maia taught me how to use the Chinese app Elema, which is kind of like Postmates (but you can also order groceries through it). I haven’t done food delivery before and I was surprised by how quick it was (our food came in less than 30 minutes!). I continue to be amazed by how seamlessly technology is integrated into all aspects of life here.
We had eggplant (which was so soft and delicious), sauteed greens, seitan, rice noodles with veggies (which were fantastic), and mountain yam! It’s great to know that i can get yummy vegetarian food without even leaving my apartment!
As I mentioned earlier, on Saturday Heather and Shimi hosted a 4th of July potluck! I arrived early and made Tempeh Burgers and Buffalo Cauliflower (using the Lunchroom’s recipe from Ann Arbor), with Heather! It was a lot of fun cooking together and definitely helped get all the amazing food done in time. In addition to what I made, we enjoyed homemade seitan sausages, chana masala, and asparagus salad as well as Blueberry pie, watermelon, and chocolate/peanut butter/date protein balls! Here’s the amazing spread courtesy of Shimi, who’s a very talented photographer!
I hope that these photos make you both jealous and hungry! There was so much delicious food! You can see how much I’m enjoying it as I’m mid chew in the photo above. 🙂 It’s great fun to share homemade food with friends and it’s always a treat when people enjoy what you make (which they did :))! Even though I’m not feeling patriotic, it was really nice having the opportunity to spend the day with friends and brought back fond memories of 4th of July barbecues with my fellow grad students and postdocs at Michigan!
Overall, this was a fun week filled with friends and lots of delicious food. This upcoming week, I have the 300 conference, so I’ll be trying to get as much research done as possible in the morning/early afternoon. Hopefully my presentation will go just as well! Additionally, the Moishe House is hosting a Black Lives Matter discussion/learning night, which should be a very important and powerful discussion (it’s the first in a series of events).
I hope that you enjoyed seeing and reading about my culinary adventures this week! I hope that it made you hungry. Overall, I hope my update reminds you that eventually things will resemble what you’re used to (after the covid-19 pandemic ends, not in the middle). If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about the current covid-19 situation, please let me know. If you need to talk about how to stay positive and productive , please reach out. I want to help support you and assure all of you in any way that I can.
In peace,
Jesse
Hi Jesse, it’s great to hear you had a productive research week and fixed your issue with the luminosity function! I really enjoyed your virtual talk at the CfA! Nice job! Do the thunderstorms help lower the humidity, or is it still hot and damp after? I think you could probably use lychee jam for pb&j. I used mom’s pineapple jam for it even though that’s pretty sweet. Maybe jam squares? Any other exotic flavors to try? Wow, does that food look good! The vegetarian Chinese food looks so yummy and what a spread for your 4th of July party. I’m so glad you could do some social things and have a nice group of friends! I’m hoping things don’t get worse here in the states this week post the 4th. Hopefully people/states will realize they need to regulate masks and social distancing, but I’m not optimistic. I hope your 300 conference/group meeting goes well. That’s nice to have one that’s not designed for California time! Have a great, productive, safe, and healthy week!
Love,
Emmet
Hi Emmet! Thanks! I’m so glad that you enjoyed my talk. It was really special having you in the audience. Unfortunately, for the most part, the humidity doesn’t lower after it storms. 🙁 I’ll try the lychee jam on a pb&j and let you know how it works. In terms of other fruit, maybe mango or passion fruit.
I’m glad that you were impressed by the food spread! It was all fantastic. You would have really enjoyed it. I also hope that the 4th celebration doesn’t make things worse in the US, but I’m not optimistic. I’ll let you know how the 300 meeting goes, but it is nice to have it in the afternoon! Have a safe and productive week!
Hi, Jesse. Thanks for another great post. I enjoyed the pictures so much. Shanghai is really a beautiful city with so many flowers and bushes in bloom. And that picture of the two cats stole my heart. It is wonderful, too, that you have now made a second type of jam and one that you could not make easily living in the US. I have only had lychees preserved in syrup, but the jam sounds very nice. Perhaps you could try making a passion fruit jam next? I have seen combinations of passion fruit and mangoes, too–just a thought. I am proud to see you following in my footsteps as a jammer! And speaking of jam, this week I made cherry and cherry rhubarb jam from a Hungarian sour variety I was able to pick locally, and I made more strawberry jam from a later variety that the Ariel’s Farm has. I also froze some strawberries for a triple berry that I will make when my raspberries ripen. It looks like I will have a lot of raspberries this year. And I still have lots of rhubarb and currants in the garden to pick.
I share your thoughts about feeling less patriotic this 4th of July. It is hard to be proud of our country with its lack of leadership and rising COVID cases and people ignoring the advisories for mask wearing and social distancing. But it is nice that you were able to enjoy some of the classic American foods like pie and burgers, vegetarian style. And yes, the food looks marvelous, and the pictures did make me hungry.
Congrats on your presentation at the CfA! Emmet said it was well received, and how neat that Emmet was in attendance. It is great how you two share research interests as well as a close family bond. And great, too, that you solved the luminosity function bug.
I look forward to your next week’s blog already. Much love, Mom
Hi Mom! I’m so glad to hear that you’re proud that I’m following in your footsteps making jam! Passion fruit is a great idea. I’ll raise it to Hannah Maia and Heather. The cherry, strawberry, and triple berry jam you’ve been making sounds fantastic! You’ll have to save some for me.
I’m glad that we’re on the same page about the US. I hope that things don’t continue to worsen, but I’m not optimistic. I’m glad you found my spread to be mouth watering. 🙂
It is great that Emmet and I can share our research with one another! I hope that you have a safe and healthy week!
Hey Jesse! The food photos are making my mouth water – even though I just had breakfast! Time for elevensies!!
That’s great you figured out the bug in the Luminosity Function. Good luck in your talk this week. I’m sure you’ll do great 🙂
Best,
Ryan
Thanks Ryan! The food was fantastic. The cauliflower I made was the recipe from Detroit Street Filling Station (so you can get it!).
I’ll let you know how the presentation goes. It’s interesting being in a mission where everything is simulation based. Hope you continue to be safe and healthy!
Another very lovely blog, Jesse.
I so strongly agree with your disappointment with our government and their utter failure to treat this disease as a matter of public health policy. Almost (if not ) criminal in their disdain for good (never mind “best”) practice. But in my opinion masks are more about the personal health aspect of mitigating this pandemic, which is not to suggest that we do not wear one when interacting with others but Public health would demand tracking and testing and the administration views tracking as a cause of the incidence of the disease and so refuses to require we track and test with the idea if we don’t know who is infecting whom then the data would indicate lower numbers and we could all go back to normal as if the virus had mysteriously disappeared. Magical thinking! Magical thought that tests can possibly CAUSE anything but better knowledge or how the disease is moving through communities but this administration views real knowledge as the work of the devil. (almost literally).
I loved your post about lychee jam. Lychees are such a wonderfully exotic fruit. They taste like candy, don’t they. I can imagine a swiss roll filled with lychee jam… or even lychee jam on matza.
As I am reading your blog I am eating some baked tofu on a bed of rice and arugula with some cauliflower made with (home made) fermented tofu.. You should check out recipes for this condiment. Takes a few months for the tofu to fully ferment but when it does it is incredibly delicious.
Harvested some basil this morning and made a pesto. And when I hit “submit” I am going to be making some squeaky curd cheese. This takes about 4 hours from start to finish and I use kefir made from kefir grains to culture the milk. Home made cheese is easy to make and kefir contains both mesophilic and thermophilic cultures so you can make cheese that need to be cooked at both lower temps and higher temps and can avoid buying freeze dried cultures unless you want to make blue cheese. (but to make blue cheese all you need are some blue cheese… That said, if you are vegan none of this matters.
From where we are in Saratoga we did not see anyone behaving carelessly on July 4th although as we watched a good movie streamed by amazon – If Beale Street could talk (based on a James Baldwin novel from 1974) – the sound of fireworks being set off in private houses punctuated our enjoyment of the movie.
Take care – and be safe – and good luck with your presentations and research.
Thanks Bernard! I’m glad you enjoyed this week’s post. I’m glad to hear that I’m not alone in my views about the US government. I completely agree with you. The current actions are borderline criminal (especially if you view the deaths as their responsibility, which they are). You’re definitely right about tracking and testing. In China, we have an app on our phone that tells us if we’ve been in contact with any one who is known to be sick (we get a green screen when we don’t). While it’s kind of scary, it is also effective.
I completely agree with you about lychees! They are like a candy! A swiss roll sounds delicious! The fermented tofu condiment sounds very interesting. Can you share the recipe? It sounds like you’ll be having some delicious food yourself! The pesto sounds great and it’s very impressive that you make your own cheese (I’m mostly vegan, but I can appreciate the hard work that takes).
I’m glad to hear Saratoga was relatively calm during the 4th. Sadly, I don’t think that was the case elsewhere. I hope that you have a safe and healthy week!
Here’s the recipe and process I used to make the fermented tofu . There may be other methods:
Drain a block of firm tofu
Boil some water and add a couple of Tbs of salt (this is to remove any bacteria that may be on the tofu) Boil tofu in this water for about 5 minutes then drain the tofu.
Wrap tofu in paper towel and press for about 60 – 90 minutes in tofu press or similar rig. You can remove the paper around the tofu after about 30 minutes (it’s there to help the water drain.
Slice into about 8 cubes.
Lay slices on paper covered baking tray and cover the top of the tofu with paper. Cover everything with plastic wrap or enclose in a plastic bag.
Allow to sit in a warm room for about 3 days to “culture”. Remove packing and check tofu. It should have a yellowish tint.
Prepare some brine: Boil 1 C water + 1 C cooking wine or mirin or vodka + 1 t sugar 4 + 1T salt. (I also added some Korean pepper strands but not necessary) – allow to cool.
Add Tofu cubes to mason jar and pour in cooled brine.
Allow to stand for two or three weeks at room temperature and then add 1 T of toasted sesame oil. Let stand another 2 or 3 weeks. You can then use as condiment or flavoring for soups and the like (we used this to flavor a cauliflower dish). Store in fridge. (I made this around the middle of January and allowed this to sit in our fridge until the middle of June before we started to use it and the flavors are incredible. My guess is that the three days of culturing is what introduces the bacteria we want and the brine prevents unwanted bacteria while encouraging those wanted while the aging further allows the acids that those bacteria make to combine with the very small amounts of alcohol and fats to produce delicious flavors (sadly, I am not a food chemist so I may be wrong about what is happening.. but I can say that the flavors are really incredible BUT this is now a condiment and NOT tofu. A little goes a long way and a lot is too much (no one would drink a glass of ketchup though they might drink a pint of tomato juice… ).
Thanks so much Bernard! It sounds very interesting.
Dear Jesse,
I enjoyed your blog very much. I also find it disheartening that our
POTUS and his followers are not doing more to control the virus.
I have friends who believe that the virus is a Democratic hoax and the numbers of cases and deaths are inflated. It is very frustrating trying to maintain relationships with them when they refuse to acknowledge science and (in my opinion) common sense.
I wonder what your Chinese friends think and say about America, do they realize that it isn’t all Americans? My daughter-in-law, Kasia, is from Poland, and her friend works at the Polish Embassy in Canada. Her friend told Kasia to leave the US because she feared a civil war because of the BLM issue. Do the Chinese see the burning and tearing down of statues in the US like we see on TV?
Can you vote by absentee ballot from China? I think voting is our best hope to change things. I’m reading John Bolton’s book, and the disorganization and lack of clarity in the White House is scary.
Take care and thank you for writing your blog. Reading it is a bright spot in my week.
Monna
Thanks Monna! I’m glad to hear that you’ve been enjoying my blog! I’m sorry to hear that you have friends that actually believe that this is a hoax. It’s hard to believe that anyone can come to that belief and I can completely understand how frustrating it is when people question the science and believe non-scientists over scientists/doctors/researchers.
This is a fascinating question. When I’ve talked about the situation in the US with my colleagues and other Chinese friends, many of them are very surprised by how bad it’s gotten (they’re aware, they just assumed the US would do more). I think some of them are also upset by the phrasing and anti-Asian sentiment from the current administration. As far as I know there is some awareness of the protests in the US, but understanding the BLM movement is not mainstream. Protest is not allowed in China, so any other protests are definitely censored on the news. Though in Shanghai, there have been events supporting causes against systemic racism. In China, racism is also somewhat associated with colorism (white is better, but this predates the arrival of Europeans).
Thankfully I can vote here. I’ve been in touch with members of Democrats abroad who have given me tips on how to ensure my vote counts. I agree that we have to change things in November. I haven’t read John Bolton’s book, but the reviews I’ve read painted a very disturbing picture.
I’m so touched to hear that my blog serves as a bright spot in your week. I hope that you have a safe and healthy week!