day 22_Chopsticks

Although it may not have occured to some of my readers, I have been practicing my chopstick skills for the past few weeks... and learned today that I have a long ways to go!

Throughout Taipei, regardless of the fare, it is customary to eat your meal with Chopsticks. [Some Western food restaurants serve with actual silverware, but even those restaurants would offer you chopsticks if you preferred :)] So far, I have been munching and maneuvering my way through my meals here, but I recieved better instruction today from a coworker. As opposed to the American attempt at using chopsticks by scissoring both sticks with the assistance of all fingers, it is in fact proper to hold one stick fixed by your thumb at all times, while swinging only the second chopstick as needed - and keeping you ring & pinky fingers out the way. (I can just picture each of you as you read this, holding your hand up, trying to determine if you've been holding your chopsticks correctly or incorrectly)...

So now, even though I have been managing alright, I am making a more concentrated effort to use my utensils the correct way, as this should allow me to be most skillful over time. So far, the items that I still have quite a bit of difficulty with are...

1. Meat with bones - it is quite challenging to me to pick up a piece of meat and eat around the bone, all the while holding it in a pair of chopsticks
2. Fresh fruit or steamed veggies, some varieties - they are slippery little suckers, what can I say?!
3. Hard boiled eggs - similar to the comment above, you sort of stare at the egg and think to youself, "Do I stab it?" : / (Even as I typed #3 it made me laugh!)
4. Soup - this is a 2-handed technique, involving a spoon in one hand with chopsticks in the other...

So, long story short? I am just another grown up, learning not to play with my food...