Welcome to Astronomer in Shanghai! Thank you for following my blog and for your interest in my adventures in Shanghai! As covid-19 continues to plague the US, and you are (hopefully) wearing masks when you go outside and maintaining social distancing practices, I hope that my blog highlights that the world can recover from covid-19 (which is sadly far away in the US). Once things improve, I hope you’ll look forward to small interactions with friends and family. I’m sure you’ll find that these interactions will be both meaningful and enjoyable. In Shanghai, life has returned mostly to normal. Since outbreaks may still occur, it’s important that you wear masks and cooperate with social distancing guidelines so that things will improve.
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Life in Shanghai
I hope that you, your families, and your friends are doing well and staying safe and healthy. Hopefully you are being smart and continuing to maintain social distancing practices. I know that many of you have been enjoying the end of the warm weather and taking advantage of it to do social distanced get togethers. So, I hope you continue to do so for as long as it’s warm enough. Moreover, as we transition to fall (though it’s still quite warm in Shanghai), I hope that you’re able to find new ways to maintain friendships and social interactions while still being safe and smart.
In terms of the current state of the US, this was a very depressing and troubling week. As a US citizen outside of the US, it’s impossible not to be consumed by these disheartening events. I feel a sense of shame in being American. I’m sure many of you share in my outrage over the decision to not charge any of the police officers who murdered Breonna Taylor. It’s disgusting that we live in a country where police officers are not held accountable for their actions. This was an unjustified murder of an innocent black woman.
Breonna Taylor’s life mattered. Black Lives Matter.
However, it’s clear that in the eyes of the courts that the walls to her neighbor’s home mattered more. Police officers need to earn our respect and trust just like everyone else and must be held accountable for their actions, just like everyone else. Moreover, the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to serve on the Supreme Court is another incredibly troubling move. Not only is Mitch McConnell’s rush to a vote on the appointment entirely hypocritical, but the last thing America needs is an ultra-conservative judge who will board up all the glass ceilings that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (may her memory be a blessing) shattered. Lastly, it is terrifying that the current occupant of the White House refuses to commit to accepting the results of the election. The US is not a dictatorship and the fact that he can’t understand that tells you all you need to know about how unfit for office he is.
Based on the recent events in the US, combined with the continued vacuum of moral leadership within the US, I implore all of you to vote. Encourage your friends to vote. Encourage your students to vote. Make sure that you are registered to vote. Even here in Shanghai, I voted! I received my absentee ballot then printed it out, voted for the candidate who believes in moral leadership, is not a racist, trusts science, and can lead our country out of the nightmare that has been the current Presidency. After doing so, I brought my ballot to the US consulate where it will be mailed to the US as part of a diplomatic pouch. So, I beg you. Vote! This is not a choice between the lesser of two evils. This is a vote between Democracy and the Authoritarian Trump regime. I hope you, and America make the right decision.
In terms of covid-19, I remain increasingly concerned about the situation in the US. The politicization of a vaccine and the Trump administration’s insistence on cutting corners to rush a vaccine are incredibly troubling as a scientist. I am grateful that Governor Cuomo (of NY) is taking further precautions on any such vaccine. Moreover, it stuns me that with over 200,000 Americans dead, people are unwilling or unable to acknowledge that this is a fundamental failure on behalf of the US government and current administration. It didn’t have to be this bad. Here in China, the situation is completely under control. All cases are imported cases, which has allowed China to tentatively reopen its borders (on September 28th, but still with a mandatory 14 day quarantine upon arrival). Currently in Shanghai, there are just 41 active (imported) cases. There is just 1 in Beijing. The recovery rate for Shanghai is 95.1% and for China is 94.4%. So, the American people must take responsibility and demand leadership that will address this crisis seriously.
In terms of research, this was another productive week! My DES research is coming along very nicely. We’re aiming to submit the paper to the collaboration by mid-October (a deadline I think we’ll hit 🙂 ). Moreover, I found a bug in my Luminosity Function analysis, which I believe will explain a lot of the weird results that I’d been measuring over the last few weeks. So, hopefully, by next week, I’ll be able to update you all with some new, exciting results! 🙂
In terms of the rest of my academic activities, most of our Colloquiums are on Zoom, which is disappointing. However, we’re still doing AstroCoffee and Group meetings in person. Having those in person activities is really nice and has helped increase the level of interaction and questioning at both meetings!
In addition to work this week, I was able to go for three runs!! It’s still warm, mostly in the mid to upper 70s, so it’s definitely great running weather (though I do miss the crisp fall weather I’m more used to). Throughout my time walking and running around Shanghai, I saw a lot of cool things that I wanted to share with you!
Additionally, I also got a few cool photos of Shanghai at night!
Shanghai is such a beautiful and cool city to live in and explore!
In addition to work and running, I made time for some fun activities! On Thursday, I went to the Unravel storytelling event. Unravel is a show were people tell stories (decided beforehand), based on a theme, which was Sink or Swim. There were stories about people facing life or death experiences, actually learning how to swim, diving headfirst into a career in stand-up comedy, and facing the challenges of leaving your family for a foreign country for the first time. Overall, the stories were really interesting and moving. A lot of them reminded me of some of the shorter stories that are part ofThis American Life (one of my favorite podcasts). It was a lot of fun and I definitely plan to go again next month!
The highlight of my week was on Saturday when my friend Heather and I went to the Veggie World Expo Shanghai! It was at the beautiful Shanghai Exhibition center. Unlike some of the Vegan food festivals I’ve gone to in the US, instead of restaurants and bakeries, this one featured companies providing samples of different products. It’s great to see that there are so many different vegan products being made for Chinese markets! There were some international brands like Gardein (coming to China soon), Oatly, and Just Egg, but most of the companies like Z-Rou, Omnipork, and tons of others are Chinese brands. I got to try a lot of different samples of vegan meat substitutes, some in the form of dumplings and baozi, and others that are nuggets or burgers! Some of these were a little to meaty for my taste, but overall there was a lot of good things! Though I think the tempeh I had was my favorite! Heather and I tried a lot of samples, but we didn’t buy much. However, we did get WeChat contacts and Taobao links for some of our favorites so we can order in the future! We did buy some yummy vegan chocolate and some vegan mooncakes! Mooncakes are a Chinese traditional snack for the mid-Autumn Festival (starts next week). So, I’ll plan to enjoy mine soon (and take photos when I do)!
This was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon! It was a lot of fun trying all the different products and I look forward to going again next year!
Afterwards, Heather I spent the day walking around and exploring different parts of Shanghai (including the area close to the other SJTU campus, where I’m planning to move in October). During our walk, we ran into 3 different people that I knew! Given how big Shanghai is, it always excites me to run into friends while out. It gives me a sense that I’m really building a life and community here in Shanghai!
Food in Shanghai
Heather and I ended up walking around so much that we decided to get dinner at one of my favorite vegan restaurants, Godly!
We enjoyed soft tofu with mushrooms and peas, stir fried gluten with vegetables (the best dish), luffa (a green squash) with edamame, and asparagus with vegetables! So, overall, it was a day filled with a ton of delicious vegan food!
As I’ve highlighted, there are so many different kinds of food here, so if you’re curious about any of it, or if there’s anything you wonder if I’ve tried (that’s vegetarian) let me know!
Jewish Life in Shanghai
I’m writing this blog post prior to Yom Kippur, so I want to take the opportunity to wish all of you who are fasting a safe and easy fast. I hope that you are able to take the opportunity to reflect back on the year and what things you liked and what you can do better to improve upon. I know that to me, this is one of the parts of the High Holy Days that I find most meaningful.
On Friday, I joined some of my friends from Moishe House for Shabbat Dinner at the Orthodox Sephardic Jewish center. I’d been there a few times before, but it was nice to go with friends. It was a very interesting experience. The community is very friendly and welcoming. However, the services were blitzed through (in normal Orthodox style). At one point, I was following the Amidah (the central prayer of Shabbat services), then got lost and a minute later, my friend pointed out that we were 25 pages ahead of where I was. So, overall, it’s not as accessible as the Reform Judaism that I enjoy. However, it was still nice to be part of the greater Jewish community of Shanghai and enjoy a lovely Shabbat meal.
The beginning of this week will be dominated by Yom Kippur. I’m leading the Kehilat Shanghai services (with the assistance of some videos). After that I’ll have a few normal days, followed by the Chinese National Holiday (celebrating China’s founding) and then the mid-Autumn Festival. So, during those Holidays, I’ll be working from home (and hopefully start looking for my new apartment). To all of you who, like me, are celebrating Yom Kippur, I hope that you have an easy fast and a meaningful holiday, even if it is different than what you normally experience.
I hope that you enjoyed seeing the highlights from the Veggie World Expo! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about Shanghai, SJTU, or covid-19, please let me know.
In peace,
Jesse
Dear Jesse,
This blog is rich in so many ways. You capture the trying times of America so well. (You will be pleased to know my absentee ballot arrived, and I will drop it off after Yom Kippur.) I enjoyed learning about the vegan festival (I think fondly of the one we attended last September in Albany before you left for China). And it is special that you have a great friend group. And to think last year you arrived just before Yom Kippur and went to services at Kehilat where, one year later, you are leading the Services for the community. Like you I have used this time for introspection and to make resolutions for the new year. Here is to a kinder and safer world free from the pandemic, social injustice, racial injustice, and hopefully a new administration where we will no longer feel shame to be an American.
I wish I could share my rugelach baked in the new convection oven as well as peach bread and the two jams I made: Concord grape jelly and pearserves!
Much love,
Mom
Hi Mom! Thank you! I’m glad to hear that you will be voting soon. I also remember all the fantastic food and sweets we enjoyed at the Albany Veg Fest! It is hard to believe how central a role I’ve taken in Kehilat Shanghai. I echo your sentiments for the next year. I wish I could enjoy your rugelach and jams as my breakfast! Hope you have an easy fast!
Hi Jesse, it sounds like you had a full week! I agree entirely with your sentiments on the country. It’s been increasingly depressing to get updates about everything going on and disagree with every decision. I hope the elections swings the left, because I don’t want to imagine what the US will look like in 2024 under Trump. I’m glad your Astro research is going well and that the DES paper should be done soon! I hope fixing the bug fixes all the strangeness in your luminosity function. The story event sounds really cool! I know story collider did a couple similar events when I was in Boston, but the timing never worked out for me to go. Maybe you’ll tell a story one day? The veggie world expo sounds amazing! I’ve really missed the big and small vegan markets that I used to go to in Boston. They were some of my favorite things! It sounds like this was a more corporate version of the Boston Veg Fest, since they usually had some companies visit with samples and coupons. All of the vegan food you include looked super yummy!!! I love the pictures of Shanghai and all of the things you saw on your run. I like the giraffe and cat statues the best! I’m glad you had a nice Shabbat, though I agree that more orthodox services and all the mumbling can be a bit disorienting. I’m glad you went with friends though. I hope your Erebus Yom Kippur services were meaningful. Have a safe and meaningful fast! I hope you have a wonderful week, too! Stay safe and healthy.
Love,
Emmet
Hi Emmet! I also don’t want to imagine 2024 under Trump. American will be unrecognizable. I’ll keep you up to date with the LF analysis! I’m definitely interested in telling a story at some point, but I would really want it to fit the theme. The next one is superpowers, which I am definitely a fan of, but unsure if I have a story for. I think you take on the Veggie Expo is correct. It was more corporate with only a few smaller vendors/caterers, but it was fun nonetheless. I also really liked the cat and Giraffe! I hope that your Yom Kippur services are meaningful and that you have an easy fast.
Hi Jesse, Let me wish you a tzom kal (an easy fast) if you are fasting Yom Kippur.
My sense here – even in Saratoga – is that many people are behaving as if the virus is history. Yesterday, Lisa and I were out walking and I saw someone with no mask inches away from an open window of a car where the driver (also maskless ) was asking directions. Are we as irrational as our behavior appears? And there are those Jewish Day schools in Brooklyn where administrators have asked staff and students NOT to be tested and by all accounts to describe symptoms if they appear to be covid-related as a “stomach ache” and the like. This to prevent the schools from being shut by order of the mayor (if more than a certain number of positive cases are recorded. No tests = no positive results = no problem . UNBELIEVABLE. Unbelievable.
On a different note, during the spring and summer I try to cycle about 10.5 miles every morning starting at around 6.00 AM but this past week has proven so chilly and so (relatively) dark that I have transformed my program from cycling in the state park to cycling in my basement. (I have a device that converts a road bike into a stationary one where the back wheel turns against the friction provided by a steel roller. Not nearly as much fun as cycling outside but I seem to work a lot harder: On the road there are places that I don’t need to cycle as hard and the wind (or breeze) keeps me cool. But on the stationary bike, if you don’t pedal you get no benefit.
Loved your account of the vegan food festival. It sounds a little like the food exhibitions in the US that are designed more for the hospitality industry than for consumers. So the exhibits are by manufacturers rather than retailers ( I only know of their existence because I know someone who was involved in providing meals for school kids in NYC.
I won’t say anything about the current political state of affairs here, except that we are racing towards a fascist state what with police lynchings and the attorney general acting as the president’s private lawyer, while McConnell’s barefaced hypocrisy is slapped in our face as if what he brayed last year is long forgotten and what he heehaws now is applauded by Trump’s minions and right wing senators, in nominating anyone to replace RBG before she is even buried , never mind before the election which is weeks away (When Obama was president no nomination could even be considered 12 months before an election!). I hear that the Dems are seeking to create legislation to limit Justices to a maximum of 18 years and to limit the number of nominations a president can make to two. But there is as much chance as a snowball in hell of such legislation being debated in the senate at this time.
Last point: professionally made seitan (gluten) tends to taste so much better than any made at home. I don’t know why tho’ I suspect it is because of the sauces that are used with the gluten.
Hi Bernard! Thank you! I hope that you also have an easy fast. The situation with respect to covid-19 is very disheartening. I really hope more people take it seriously, but clearly that is not the case. Hopefully there won’t be a second wave.
Glad to hear that you’re still able to get exercise, even if it’s not quite as much fun being inside. It’s definitely still warm enough here for running and biking outdoors, but talking to my family, it sounds like it’s getting chilly in Saratoga.
In terms of the Vegan Festivals, in the US most that I’ve been to are designed for consumers and most of the booths are restaurants. This was mostly companies and designed for both retailers and consumers.
You’re sentiments on the US are as usual spot in. The Dems have to do something to reverse course if they retake the senate and house. Adding more justices, term limits, everything needs to be on the table.
I also agree about the professionally made seitan! While I enjoy making it myself, the professionally made version is always more tender and less chewy. So, there’s clearly a secret I don’t know.
Hello Jesse! Once again I enjoyed reading your blog. It is wonderful to get a glimpse of your life in Shanghai. The accompanying photos really help your experiences come alive! The Unravel storytelling event sounds so interesting. Are the stories told in English or is there a translator?
Hi Peg! It’s great to hear from you! I’m glad that you’re still enjoying my blog and photos! The stories for Unravel were all told in English (it was a mix of ex-pats and Chinese nationals). They do do some digital stories/articles that are in Chinese and then translated to English as well. Hope you, Art, and the rest of your family are staying safe and healthy!
Hey Jesse! I hope you have a happy Yom Kippur! The veggie world expo sounds super fun! I’m glad to hear you had a nice time and I hope you have a nice week.
Thanks Ryan! I did have a meaningful Yom Kippur (I’ll talk about it in next week’s post). The veggie world expo was really cool! It reminded me of the Veg Fest’s I’ve gone to in Detroit! I hope that you have a nice week as well!