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 looks like once recovery begins. As things improve, I hope you enjoy small gatherings with friends and family and other 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, your families, and your friends remaining safe and healthy. As the covid-19 vaccines continue to be made available to younger people, I hope that you and the rest of the members of your family are taking advantage of this and getting vaccinated. Moreover, I hope that as spring is happening in the US (almost summer here in Shanghai) you’re spending more time outside as well!
Given how so many of you began following my blog when China went in to lock down last year and then followed my own experiences with China opening up, it’s hard for me not to comment on the lifting of the mask mandate in the US for those who are vaccinated. I have mixed thoughts about this. Currently, masks are only required on public transportation (buses, subways, planes, taxis) and inside enclosed public spaces (i.e., malls) for everyone. However, many people still wear masks all the time. Importantly, nobody criticizes or condemns people for wearing masks. However, Shanghai reached this point because there have been almost no non-imported cases for the better part of a year. So, this is quite different than the current situation in the US. My concerns stem from the fact that there’s no way to ensure that people who aren’t wearing masks have been vaccinated and aren’t instead the people who have been listening to the former president and downplaying the seriousness of covid-19. While outside, I feel comfortable not wearing a mask, I still wear masks inside (at bookstores, malls, grocery stores, …). This is based solely on my own level of comfort (I’m vaccinated), so I strongly encourage that all of you do what you are comfortable with (if vaccinated). However, it’s important to recognize how much wearing masks has reduced the transmission other diseases like the flu and colds. In China (and other parts of Asia), people wear masks whenever they are under the weather as a way to prevent spreading germs. I would love to see this concept remain in the US. As someone who’s spent a lot of time on college campuses, it’s incredibly frustrating how most everyone gets kind of sick during the winter, so this would be a great way to reduce this. However, I sadly remain skeptical of this outcome due to the politicization of masks in the US, since many of the same conservatives who have downplayed the virus are unlikely to not recognize the positive impact they’ve had beyond just slowing the spread of covid-19.
Additionally, I want to comment on the recent situation where players and coaches on the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres who have been vaccinated have gotten covid-19. It’s important to remember that vaccines are not 100% effective. Many people who get flu shots get sick every year. The vaccine reduces the likelihood of getting sick, while also reducing the side effects. It is not a miracle cure or super power protecting you from all risk. So, please remain vigilant, especially in situations where not everyone is vaccinated.
I also want to briefly comment on the situation in Israel. I won’t be discussing the details because I honestly have not spent enough time reading about and discussing the situation to comfortably provide many thoughts. However, I believe that it’s important to recognize that violence is decidedly not the answer and has accomplished little over the past few decades to change the situation between Israel and Palestine. While I pray that this current situation will end, I also recognize that for something to truly change, a new non-violent approach built on understanding and mutual respect of the people and their religious beliefs is needed.
To update you all about the covid-19 situation in China. Covid-19 remains entirely under control. However, a few cases have popped up, which has resulted in more stringent quarantines for people entering the country. In total, there are currently, 54 active cases in Shanghai and the recovery rate is 96.99%. In Beijing, there are just 2 active cases and the recovery rate is at 98.95%. For China as a whole, there are 727 active cases, with a recovery rate of 94.63%. So, clearly these more stringent regulations have been working.
In terms of Astronomy, this was a productive week. My collaboration wide review (and telecon) for my DES paper on the evolution of the Stellar Mass – Halo Mass relation ended last week. I have a few minor comments that I’m discussing with my co-authors, but we should be ready to submit the paper to the Astrophysical Journal (ApJ) very soon! I’ll share it with you all once I post it on the arXiV. In addition to that, I’ve continued to spend a lot of time on my Luminosity Function mock. Unfortunately, there are still a few kinks that I’m working to figure out in order to get more precise measurements from the simulations. So, hopefully I’ll be able to figure them out soon. Additionally, I’ve continued to make progress on my work on the evolution of the Intra-Cluster light, the region surrounding the brightest central galaxy, as well as on our halo mass proxy analysis. So, hopefully I’ll have some other papers coming together soon as well.
As I hinted at in the opening, spring is ending here in Shanghai and we’re already moving in to summer. While it’s not brutally hot all the time yet (it did reach 93 feels like 106 on Saturday), it is very humid, which means I’m sweating every time I leave my apartment (thankfully the air conditioning is much better in my current apartment than in my old apartment 🙂 ). So, due to the weather, I only got to go for 1 very unpleasant run this week. Running season might be ending for me soon, since the heat and humidity make it quite uncomfortable.
Additionally, the heat is causing a lot of the flowers to wilt. However, there are still some beautiful ones that I can share with you!
Additionally, I saw some cool murals and a cute cat that I thought I’d share with you as well!
Despite the heat, I still made time for some fun and thought provoking events. On Wednesday, I attended the second AAPI month discussion, this time led by my friend Heather, a History Professor at NYU Shanghai. Heather’s talk began by providing a historical background to the Asian American immigrant experience, focusing mostly on the experience of Chinese Americans in the 19th to early 20th centuries. While I was aware of the Chinese-Exclusion Act, I was unaware of so many of the additional ways that laws were enacted to explicitly restrict and prevent Chinese (and Asian) immigration into the US. After the historical background, Heather and many of the attendees shared personal experiences of the ways Asian Americans are often both hyper visible and hyper invisible in the US and other parts of the world today. It was a very powerful discussion and I greatly appreciated having the opportunity to learn and listen to everyone share their experiences.
On Sunday, I went back to the foreign language bookstore. I hadn’t been in a few months and needed some new books to read (I only have 2 left). I picked up the fifth and sixth books in the Millennium saga (Girl with the Dragon tattoo series) as well as the first two Witcher books. So, I’ll have some good fiction to read this summer! Additionally, I got some more cool gatchopods (little anime figures) as well! The bookstore has a ton of manga in Japanese (so sadly nothing I can read), but I loved seeing so many of my favorite characters. Plus, I couldn’t not take a picture of Maus!
The primary fun highlight of my week was on Saturday, when Moishe House hosted a tie-dye party! I’m sure some of you remember that Emmet and I gave out tie-dye t-shirts for our b’nei mitzvah, so it’s probably unsurprising that I’m a big fan of tie-dye. I hadn’t done it since my senior year at Brown, but it was so much fun hanging out with friends and attempting to make some cool shirts! While it was sadly way to hot to do it outside, it was still a blast! I tie-dyed 2 shirts and 2 bandanas!
As you can see, I had a blast and everyone made some really great shirts with colorful designs! I was really happy with how my shirts and bandanas came out!! I can’t wait to wear them this summer!
Overall, this was a really nice and a quieter week. This upcoming week will definitely be research focused as I try to fix my mock and finish up my first DES project! I’m sure I’ll have some more fun things and photos to share with all of you as well!
I hope that you enjoyed seeing my photos of flowers and tie-dye! I hope that you all have a safe, happy, and healthy week.
In peace,
Jesse
Hi Jesse,
It sounds like you had a good week (despite the extreme heat). I’m glad that your paper will be submitted soon. I hope it’s a quick referee process. I’m glad you’re making some progress on your other projects, too! I agree with your comments on masks, as I wonder if Fauci was thinking purely about the science and not about the socio-political ramifications as this is a sign for people who don’t want to get vaccinated that the world had returned to normal and they don’t need to get vaccinated. I also agree with your comments on the current Israel-Palestine conflict. The situation is a mess and I can’t help but be critical of the actions Israel’s taken to lead to this point. In terms of your week, I really like the graffiti. I hope you get a few more weeks of flowers and that it stays cool (or not rainy) so that you can go running. I loved seeing the manga pictures from the bookstore! Anime for the win! And that’s cool that you saw Maus! Maybe one of these days you’ll see a graphic novel that we don’t already own. The tye dye looks awesome! Nice job! I remember doing it at the end of our senior year at Brown and that was a lot of fun! I also really appreciated your comments on Heather’s presentation. It sounds very impactful. I hope that you have another productive week! Stay safe and healthy!
Love,
Emmet
Thanks Emmet! I hope the referee process goes quickly as well. I think your take on Fauci is correct and sadly many people will likely just go back to normal who haven’t been vaccinated. I agree with you that it’s very hard not be critical of Israel, as well. I’m glad you liked the photos from the bookstore! I hope I can find some English language manga and graphics, too. Tie dye was a lot of fun when we did it and it was fun this time too! I hope that you also have a safe and productive week!
Dear Jesse,
What a colorful post. I absolutely love seeing the bright flowers as well as the tie die shirts and bandanas. And even more I love seeing your smile. Shanghai has certainly been a good place for you to be for this pandemic in so many ways. Thank you, too, for including that cute cat picture. I always enjoy seeing cats in different countries, as you know.
It sounds like you are making very good progress on your DES research and in your work with Ying. A lot of work seems to be coming together, and hopefully you can send more than one paper out for submission this summer. I also am very interested to know more about Heather’s talk. By any chance, was it recorded? In my “Children’s Literature: A History” class, I end looking at how in the later 20th century to today, books look at issues in our world to make children more aware, as opposed to trying to improve children (as in the early didactic texts) or entertain children (as in the later 19th to early 20th centuries). This year, I taught a graphic novel that covered an horrific event in American history, the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WW II. They Called Us Enemy is a memoir of sorts by George Takei. It taught very well in the class, and I do recommend it to you and those who are allies of AAPI. Emmet liked it, too!
I finished the semester and read over my evaluations. It was a great semester for me, and I think that the pandemic invigorated my teaching in unexpected ways. I was also interviewed for an article about Jane Austen that came out in Lit Hub, and I just shared that with you on We Chat. I am starting to begin my summer research projects and work on the garden, too. Soon I will be making jam again, too. Will you make jam again soon?
Thank you for another great blog post. Good luck, and please know I love you and miss you.
Mom
Hi Mom! I’m glad you liked seeing the tie dye and the flowers! I knew you’ld like seeing the cat! There are so many stray cats around Shanghai, so I see them a lot.
I hope that I can continue to make progress though hopefully get some results soon as well. Unfortunately Heather’s talk was not recorded. I can ask her if she has the slides for the historical part if your interested. Emmet mentioned They Called Us Enemy. It sounds very interesting.
I’m glad to hear that your semester went well! I’ll check out the article on Lit Hub. I think Hannah Maia and I will be making jam again. She’s just been very busy, but it’ll be peach and lychee season soon! We also have a ton of frozen strawberries (in my freezer). So, I’ll definitely make some!
Thanks for your post, Jesse.
First, let me wish you much success as you move through submission of your paper for publication. Sounds as if you are very close.
The Israeli -Palestinian violence is sickening. Both sides seem to treat human life of the other as very cheap. Truth to say, for me it is incredibly hard for me to find anything to say in support of Israeli action other than no country tolerates the indiscriminate firing of missiles into a civilian population. BUT how a nation state responds to such actions is not perhaps how the Israeli govt or the people have been responding.
On a cheerier note, tie-dyeing. I love tie dyes and Lisa has made me a tie-dyed t-shirt that I would wear cycling in the state park. That is a fun activity.
And talking of fun activities, I am struggling to make an “adult” version of lemonade. I made a batch a few months ago without any problems – It was delicious. But the batch I am making is giving me endless trouble as the yeast give up the ghost with hardly any alcohol produced. Tsk. Not sure if the problem is the acidity (pH) or the problem is that the lemon juice I am using has too much sorbate (a preservative that prevents yeast from reproducing. Not ready to give up yet…
A last note on wine making. I made a batch of wine from a kit a few months ago – Grenache- Shiraz- Mourverore blend of grapes – (bottled this in February) and we cracked open a bottle for shabbat. It was delicious. Very happy with this batch. And am about to make some dandelion wine (Ray Bradbury novel of the same name) , from dandelions I harvested from our yard (you freeze the petals to preserve them).
If you celebrate Shavuot, have a wonderful chag. It begins tonight – two days in my tradition.
Take care and stay safe (the CDC appears to be re-opening “normalcy” just a mite too quickly when so many people refuse to be vaccinated and we will all be treating everyone unmasked as if they have been ..Politics and NOT science seems to be the governing ideology and that suggests we are back in the era of Galileo and the Pope’s view of astronomical observations (16th and 17th Centuries). Have we learned nothing in 400 plus years? )
Thanks Bernard! I really appreciate hearing your thoughts on the Israel-Palestine conflict. They really align with my own and it’s very hard not to recognize how cheaply lives are valued.
I’m glad to hear your a fan of tie-dye as well! I’m looking forward to running in my bandanas! It sounds like you’ve been quite busy with making lemonade and wine! So, you’ll have a lot to enjoy this summer!
I’m not doing anything to celebrate Shavuot this year (we were planning a Kehilat picnic, but the weather did not cooperate), but I hope that you have a wonderful holiday!
I also really agree with your take on the mask mandate. It’s ridiculous that so many people refuse to be vaccinated and politicians still insist on opening up. I think you’re right, we sadly didn’t learn the lesson from Galileo.
Hey Jesse! That mural of spiderman and iron man looked pretty cool! Also nice there are still some flowers in bloom. Congrats on almost being ready to submit your paper to ApJ!
Thanks Ryan! I’ll definitely let you know once it’s submitted! Hope dissertation writing is going well!