Aiming High
I am all about education. Aim high! Reach for the stars! Dream big! Along those lines, let me ask this question - how many out there know how to use chopsticks??? Please be truthful. I don't care if you have ever picked them up and tried, I want to know, can you pick up a single grain of rice and without breaking a sweat bring it to your lips?
I cannot do it. I used to feel that people who did use chopsticks were being pretentious or showing off their prestidigitation.
I have read the little lessons (as seen at right) and tried and am totally retarded when it comes to this skill. Even my husband can do it and only uses a fork in deference to my handicap.
One time a waiter felt sorry for me and even bound the chopsticks together like they do for children. I was a little better off but still just felt like cramming my face into my pile of spicy shrimp and rice rather than use the "sticks of torture".
I was considering adding this to my "Goals for Life List". One of my other goals for life is having all of my bras and panties match (I know, I know - fly too close to the sun, you risk being burned, but I must continue to raise the bar!).
posted by DebbieDoesLife at
3:22 PM
14 Comments:
I would be very skinny if I had to use chop sticks.
By
Brenda, at 1/21/2007 4:07 PM
It's good to see you blogging again. And I too, belong to CRA (Chopsticks Retard Anonymous)
By
Type (little) a aka Michele, at 1/21/2007 6:08 PM
Practice, practice. I do eat with chopsticks sometimes---although I am not very graceful.
Buy some and use them at home whenever you get takeout. That's how I learned. Although I do often throw them aside in favor of a fork. 'Cause a girl's got to shovel food into her mouth sometimes, after all.
By
Anonymous, at 1/21/2007 10:31 PM
With 4.5 years in Japan under my belt, I can indeed use chopsticks. However, I still don't use them the "right" way. There is a proper way to hold them. But my philosophy is, if I get the food into my mouth, I'm using them the right way. We were told to practice with popcorn when we first got to Japan. Once you can navigate popcorn, you can move onto more difficult foods.
By
Annie, The Evil Queen, at 1/21/2007 10:58 PM
I can use chopsticks. But I've never tried the "pick up a single grain of rice" trick. I learned how to use them when I lived in Japan. Boy, my Japanese teacher thought we were hilarious.
By
Anonymous, at 1/22/2007 6:47 AM
I use chopsticks to eat sushi, but I cannot eat anything else with them, especially rice. I am in awe of people who can sit there and eat a bowl of rice with chopsticks. I think they're faking and just dumping the bowl in their mouth.
By
Trish, at 1/22/2007 3:14 PM
I KNOW!
...But I also lived in Japan for 5 years...
(Most of them with Annie up there.)
By
Paige, at 1/22/2007 7:18 PM
Using chopsticks is easy if you just remember that the lower one stays stationary the whole time - you never move it from its position tucked under your thumb. And the upper one you hold like you would a pencil. So it moves up and down and touches the lower one.
By
teahouse, at 1/23/2007 10:37 PM
Speaking of chopsticks... I'm inventing this new diet based around them. The theory is that you'll eat less and/or get so frustrated you don't eat at all. At least that's what happens to me every time I use them. ;)
By
Tink, at 1/24/2007 8:04 AM
I only know how as I was forced as a child, by my Japanese girlfriend's grandparents to learn as she lived below them and we were continually subjected to sushi and the like...
Good luck with the new skill set!!!
By
Pendullum, at 1/24/2007 12:15 PM
I CAN do it but I don't usually. I enjoy eating quickly and chopsticks don't allow me to do that. My husband and oldest son love them and are use them well and often.
By
Anonymous, at 1/24/2007 9:26 PM
Top one moves, bottom one stays still! I used to think I was pretty good with chopsticks until I went to a wedding where the bride and groom were Chinese. I looked like a complete dumbass. It's all about the practice for sure.
By
Heather, at 1/24/2007 9:28 PM
Years ago, after a very frustrating dinner at an Aisan restaurant, I made up my mind to master this skill. I started eating lunch every day at a little hole-in-the-wall Japanese cafe where the waitress got to know me. She would "get me started", patiently positioning my fingers, and I was ok until I had to stop to take a drink. Then she would come over and get me started again. Eventually it worked. I acquired the skill of chopsticks and a lifelong taste for Japanese luncheon counter food. As suggested in other comments, it is about practice. Now I have to go put tempura batter on the grocery list...
By
Barb T., at 1/25/2007 8:09 PM
i'm 1/2 azn & i can't use the damn sticks very well... and to boot i'm really not big on azn food.hmm how do you like that?
By
acaligurl, at 1/29/2007 7:25 AM
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