A tale of two cities

With Thanksgiving and two early releases last week, I've had a lot of time to start exploring Shanghai. Back in 2004 when I studied abroad in China, a classmate visited Shanghai's Urban Planning Museum, and she said it was incredible. So in all seriousness, that's where I wanted to start - mainly because of this:

This is an exact 1/500 scale model of Shanghai, and it took my breath away. My neighborhood is somewhere in the bottom right corner, but I never could pinpoint which building. To get an idea of the size, you can see a few schoolchildren on the viewing platform in the background. Going up one floor gave an even better view:

On the outer arc of where the river curves around is a promenade called the Bund, and that was my destination a few days later. The Bund used to be where trading ships would pull up along the bank of the river and unload goods, and over time the Western concessionary/colonial powers built some pretty grand buildings. The best time to visit is in the evening as all the lights are coming on. Along the west bank of the river is the old European side:

 Looking across to the east bank, you then see Thoroughly Modern China:

 All this in the same city! I felt truly excited to live in such a place. And the days just kept on being wonderful. I worked out at the neighborhood's giant recreation center, shopped for home decor in the French Concession, attended an international church, and joined a friendly group for dinner afterward at a trendy organic restaurant. And then the shock finally hit.

We were a large group, and when the meal was finished and the server brought our bill, I was stunned. It was the equivalent of two months salary for a local NGO worker in Xishuangbanna. Living in a cozy expat cocoon in a developed, international city had lulled me into thinking US-China culture shock wouldn't be an issue this time. But I wasn't prepared for Yunnan-Shanghai culture shock.

How does one move between such different worlds all the time and keep one's balance? How to have an ongoing dialogue with oneself about what standard of living is good and proper? Perhaps as a kind of penance, this week I've been packing lunches and seeking out the small food stalls in the alleys, but legalism probably isn't the best response either. No simple answers here.