Sticky Chopsticks Situation
We had a chance to entertain our friends’ visiting parents in a nice Chinese restaurant. They requested that we use public chopsticks. Everybody obeyed. At one point, I found the husband sticking his private chopsticks into the public dishes. At another point, I found myself managing a piece of duck meat on my own plate with the public chopsticks.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward, to say the least. Seriously, I don’t feel particularly apologetic about our behavior. Instead, I found their habit a bit, what's the word, "paranoid".
If you think about it, the way we Chinese share meals around a round table is pretty gross. It looks like the most effective way to spread gems and transmit disease. But there is no data showing Chinese have higher risk of getting sick via meal/gem sharing. It's in the air and everywhere. It’s easier to eat in a more "civilized manner" in a Western meal when you have only a couple of bowls where you to fetch the food to your plate. It’s a lot more work to go around over 12 dishes every mouthful, like today.
The point here though is not about the eating habit in a culture. I would eat with bare hands or with knife and folks depending where I am. In this case, it’s about how you choose to have your personal habit as you grow old. It’s about the resistance to forming habits that are not convenient for your own mental well being. It’s the balance between being civilized and being ridiculous.
After I extended my goodwill with my hosting of the dinner, I reserved these thoughts.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward, to say the least. Seriously, I don’t feel particularly apologetic about our behavior. Instead, I found their habit a bit, what's the word, "paranoid".
If you think about it, the way we Chinese share meals around a round table is pretty gross. It looks like the most effective way to spread gems and transmit disease. But there is no data showing Chinese have higher risk of getting sick via meal/gem sharing. It's in the air and everywhere. It’s easier to eat in a more "civilized manner" in a Western meal when you have only a couple of bowls where you to fetch the food to your plate. It’s a lot more work to go around over 12 dishes every mouthful, like today.
The point here though is not about the eating habit in a culture. I would eat with bare hands or with knife and folks depending where I am. In this case, it’s about how you choose to have your personal habit as you grow old. It’s about the resistance to forming habits that are not convenient for your own mental well being. It’s the balance between being civilized and being ridiculous.
After I extended my goodwill with my hosting of the dinner, I reserved these thoughts.
posted by minimum at
11:17 PM
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