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Life in Shanghai
For those of you who read my last post, you know this week was busy. SJTU hosted The First Shanghai Assembly on Cosmology and Galaxy Formation. So, unsurprisingly, my week centered around the conference.
Before I delve into that, I wanted to let you know that I have a resident visa! So, for those concerned (I know I was!) I will not be kicked out of China anytime soon! 🙂
The First Assembly of Cosmology and Galaxy Formation was an interesting first conference experience as a postdoc at SJTU. Many of the Astronomers came from China, Korea, and Japan; however, there was also a contingent from Europe and North America , so I was able to meet and present my research to a lot of different Astronomers I had not met before. I think I was even able to build at least one collaboration. For those Astronomers reading this, unsurprisingly, the conference was incredibly broad with a vast array of topics covering simulations to observations and Lambda CDM cosmology to the formation of the first galaxies, which meant that there were a lot of talks that were unrelated to the work I am generally fascinated by. However, overall, I think I learned a lot about the latest progress in these fields.
The conference ran Monday through Friday with a half-day on Wednesday with 10-14 talks (each 15-25 minutes) each day. This was an exhausting week. I served on the local organizing committee (LOC) and shepherded the microphone around on Monday and Thursday during question periods. As an LOC member people occasionally asked me where to eat, which as a vegetarian, who lives far from the university, lead to many awkward pauses.
I also presented my research (my DES work and Ph.D. work) on Friday! My talk was well received and I got a lot of compliments on my ability to explain my research coherently as well as on my calm presentation style. Hopefully this is the first of many great opportunities to present my research as a postdoc!
The highlight of the week was by far the Conference reception and banquet, which was held on a cruise on the Huangpu River! I had not visited the Bund during my time in Shanghai (because I knew this was coming up) and this was an amazing opportunity to get to see it lit up.
Me and the Shanghai Tower 
The Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower 
As you can see, the Bund is lit up like a light show at night (every night)! If you ever come to visit me (which you should), this is a must see experience!
Given how exhausting the conference was, I planned a more relaxing weekend which meant no additional cite seeing. However, I plan to do some more exploring or museum visiting this upcoming weekend!
Food in Shanghai
Due to the conference, many of my meals were provided at the dining hall this week. However, the conference provided some excellent deserts! I’m not sure if it’s SJTU or China in general, but French style deserts are very popular.
A strawberries and cream biscuit sandwich 
A chocolate muffin 
A tofu and vegetable rice bowl
The benefit of having my apartment is that I was able to cook healthier meals and eat salad, which offset the many yummy deserts from the conference. My only interesting meal this week was from Shabbat dinner.
Jewish Life in Shanghai
My weekend, especially Sunday, was filled with interactions with the Jewish community. On Friday, I joined Kehilat Shanghai for Shabbat services and dinner. It’s been quite nice becoming friendly with other regular members who like myself come to most Shabbats as well as getting to meet community members who have lived in Shanghai for years. After a month here, it’s great to feel like a part of the community.
On Sunday, I subbed for the the Kehilat Shanghai religious school (Tov). I taught the class for the 11-12 year olds. We spent most of the class going over different stages in a persons life that are associated with Judaism. The kids were working on creating a board game (i.e., similar to the game of life). Although it’s been a long time since I’ve been at either Sunday or Hebrew school it was fun seeing how similar it is here. This also gave me a chance to see how diverse the community is. It’s a mixture of families from the US, Europe, Israel, Australia, and those where one parent is Chinese.
I then spent Sunday afternoon/evening baking at the Shanghai Moishe house. We made fantastic peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and a pumpkin pie. It was a sweets filled evening of fun with new friends! I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the Moishe House residents as well as getting to meet other young professionals living in Shanghai! This is another community that I’ll keep coming back to.
I hope that you enjoyed hearing about my latest week in Shanghai, This should be a relatively normal week. There are only a few more things I need to get set up (like my University ID card and bankcard). So, hopefully, I’ll finally have everything I need soon. I’ve really enjoyed getting your questions and comments on my blog, so please keep that up and subscribe!
Until next week!
In peace,
Jesse
Glad that you got your visa! Those pictures from the cruise are amazing. It reminds me of how the Eiffel Tower sparkles at night. Are those all normal office buildings, or are they touristy things? I’m glad to hear the conference went well and that you enjoyed teaching Sunday school.
Hi Emmet! The Bund did remind me of the Eiffel Tower at night. A lot of the buildings are normal office buildings although some of the buildings have observation towers and restaurants.
What a great entry once again, Jesse. And what a busy week, too. It was exciting to see you in action. Ying took a great picture of you. I am interested to know what that slide shows? Can you give me an “Astrophysics for Dummies” explanation? I think the Bund is beautiful. We took a cruise on the Danube in Budapest that also has the buildings lit up. Why is it called “the Bund”? And do they ever shoot fireworks over the Huangpo? That would be an amazing sight! And perhaps the preferred desserts are French because of the past French involvement in Shanghai? Reading this blog makes me feel like you are not so far away! Proud of you, Jesse. Much love, Mom
Thanks Mom! The slide behind me shows the Stellar Mass (of the central galaxy) plotted against the halo mass (which includes the dark matter) of the entire cluster. The color represents the magnitude gap (the difference in brightness between the central and fourth brightest galaxy). The histogram is for the redshift distribution.
Bund means an embankment, so that may be where the name comes from, but I’m not really sure. There are fireworks on the chinese new year! That’s a good point about the French influence on deserts.
Hi Jesse!
I spoke to your mom yesterday and told her how much I am enjoying reading your blog. She asked if I had ever commented and when I said no, she suggested I write. So here I am!!
Your life in Shanghai looks amazing and I am so impressed with how quickly you have acclimated, both at your work and exploring the city. I am especially impressed with the vibrancy of the Jewish community and so happy to see how you have already become a part of it, especially on Shabbat 🍷
I love seeing your photos ! The colors, the architecture, the art, the food!! And the photos of the Bund were striking. Buffalo, the original City of Light, has a lot to learn about how to light up their buildings at night 😀
I look forward to your next blog post!
Go Blue!
Susan & Steve
PS say hello to Julia from us too. So serendipitous that we met her this summer on her way to Shanghai!
Hi Susan! I’m glad to hear that you and Steve are enjoying my blog and seeing the different sights of Shanghai! Finding the Jewish community has been great and it’s been very enjoyable to be involved with it as much as I have. Next time I see Julia, I’ll definitely pass along your well wishes.
Hey Jesse –
Great pictures from the Huangpu River cruise! That looks like a great way to see the city. Glad to hear the conference went well and you’re settling in to life over there. And now you can really relax since you have the Visa!
Have fun and keep up the great work!
Robbie
Hi Robbie! Thanks! The cruise was one of the best ways to see the city! I now realize there’s a lot more for me to visit. 🙂
Jessie, l am enjoying reading your blog so much. It puts a smile on my face to think how well you’ve adjusted to your new life. Such a variety of activities your doing. Keep up the good work and play.
Love,
Cousin Halli
Hi Halli! I’m glad to hear that you are enjoying the blog! Thanks for letting me know.
Jesse! Congrats on the visa! It’s cool you got to meet a bunch of new astronomers and the Shanghai towers look incredible! I hope there are more fun Moishe+ events for you to look forward to this week.
Jesse: Your description of the conference was enlightening. I visited Shanghai & your pics reminded me of the creative ways China light up their buildings. That tofu/ vegetable rice bowl looked tasty. What is SDSS-C4; DES-Redmapper? Dora Lee Stanley
Thanks Ryan! I think there will be some fun stuff this week, but it will be nice to have a week where I can focus a bit more on research as well. 🙂
Hi, Jesse. Sorry I am slow in commenting on this blog entry. Sometimes between WeChat and Facetime conversations, it seems that there is nothing new to say. But there always is.
I’m glad that your “first” conference in China went so well. I loved the picture of your presentation. Finally a screen that made you look small! The stage and screen made me wonder if you weren’t promoting the latest Apple product. Wow. The river cruise pictures look just like the glossy images of Shanghai you get when you do a Google image search of the city. In so many ways, Shanghai seems like a very diverse–culturally, architecturally–city. It really does seem like a city of the future.
But at least for now, there is one thing that our little town of Saratoga Springs has that Shanghai doesn’t have: SNOW! Sounds like you are lucky to escape Ann Arbor, too.
So enjoy that warm fall weather, and have a productive week. Keep writing.
Love, Michael
Hi Dad! Thanks for writing. The screen was huge. It was like presenting at a movie theater. At times, it was weird to have to look down to point out the bottom of my slides. I agree about the photos from the bund. It looks very futuristic and ultra-modern. It’s still a little weird to me that we are in November and it’s still ~ 60-70 degrees. I do miss the cold and snow. Hopefully it’ll cool off soon.