An IKEA in China?

Let's talk about big business. China is a growing country, and the economic boom has created a plethora of opportunities to make money very quickly. Working at an international school is interesting because there are many people from all over the world, but at the same time many people here do not seem to want to try local food, let alone learn the language.

The neighborhood in Pudong that I live in, Kangqiao, is relatively new and not as developed as central downtown Shanghai. What annoyed me a bit about last summer were the tourists that almost seemed to demand Westernized everything. While I understand that a McDonald's or KFC may provide food that one is used to, why travel half-way across the country, or live in a new country, and then expect/want the Starbucks, etc. Here one of the teachers is campaigning for a Starbucks to set up a cafe in our neighborhood, and I am really amazed at the support it seems to have. Since I don't drink coffee I honestly would prefer not to have one in the area, but the other thing that bothers me a bit is that establishing these Western chains really can further isolate the ex-pats from the local population, and I really think that is a shame.

On another note, I took a van with some other teachers to IKEA today. It took about an hour to get there, and it was in Puxi, the area on the east side of the river. Puxi is drastically different than Kangqiao-- skyscrapers everywhere, McDonald's, Starbucks, etc. And I know I just preached about trying to be integrated with the population at large, and then started a story about IKEA, but it seems like people think Kangqiao will be more civilized or something if there is a Starbucks out here... Thoughts?