Do you know how to use chopsticks

[GB]

I do not think we are any more or any less polite than our Eastern friends. We have plenty of etiquette rules as well. I have have seen plenty of Asians be impolite or rude even. That is not to say that most or all are, but we need to judge people as individuals, not based on a region.

[keltin]

Originally Posted by GB

I do not think we are any more or any less polite than our Eastern friends. We have plenty of etiquette rules as well. I have have seen plenty of Asians be impolite or rude even. That is not to say that most or all are, but we need to judge people as individuals, not based on a region.

True oh wise one.

[Alix]

Sliding only SLIGHTLY off topic, most Asians think nothing of chewing with their mouths open and yet that is a very big Western no no. As is burping at the table in most Western cultures. Different strokes for different folks.

[buckytom]

umm, does anyone realize how many vastly different asian peoples and cultures there are? asia is huge, so it's difficult to try to get your occidental minds around the numbers.

i'm sorry to be so impolite to point out that it's remarkably ignorant to assume such a diverse and far reaching spectrum of cultures as having only a few traditions or rules of etiquette.



(that's the most asian looking smiley i could find in our list. i wasn't being judgemental.)

i'd bet it's as regional as any of our western european based traditions. maybe worse, the sneaky, mathematical bastids.

getting back to chopsticks, pleade read the ENTIRE wikipedia entry for chopsticks, and general rules of etiquette. it'll help answer some of the previous questions.

[Dave Hutchins]

Yes I can use them I learned quick I had just got to Tokyo and was hungry and all they had was wooden chop sticks, live there for 2 yrs. and was quite proficient with them still use them 45 yrs later

[lindatooo]

My ex-FIL taught me to use chopsticks years ago using a crumpled up cigarette wrapper. Once you learn to pick that up you can pick up just about anything!

First you had me drooling over grilled peaches and now I want sushi!

[GB]

I learned in the 3rd or 4th grade. We had to do reports on countries. You needed to make a food from the country you were doing your report on. The one exception was whoever did China could instead teach people how to use chopsticks. They would bring in enough for everyone and then make a big pile of popcorn. You had to use the chopsticks to eat the popcorn. Once you finished you could have more. Needless to say I learned how to use them very quickly since I wanted more

[Alix]

Originally Posted by buckytom

umm, does anyone realize how many vastly different asian peoples and cultures there are? asia is huge, so it's difficult to try to get your occidental minds around the numbers.

i'm sorry to be so impolite to point out that it's remarkably ignorant to assume such a diverse and far reaching spectrum of cultures as having only a few traditions or rules of etiquette.

BT, if that was directed at me for my generalization about Asian cultures please forgive me. I am indeed well aware of how many cultures there are and how many different traditions etc go along with that. However, in the interest of being brief I generalize, as I am sure many of us do. And I must have missed the section where we all assumed there were only a few traditions or etiquette. Can I get you a nice cup of tea my friend? A little sencha perhaps? It sounds like you need some TLC and maybe some caffeine.

[buckytom]

it wasn't directed at you alix. i'm sorry you may have taken it that way.

and yes, a cup of tea would be nice.

having seen what my asian friends go through, being called oriental, like a rug or piece of furniture, or worse, "chinese", even though they're from an entirely different country a third of the world away, it hits a sore spot in me to hear such generalizations.

it would be like someone saying that canadians are exactly the same as people from the united states, just a little chillier.

[GB]

Bucky, were you directing your comment at one person or at everyone? You said "Does anyone realize...". That makes it sound like you think multiple people have an issue with this (a bit of a generalization yourself). I think most people here DO realize the differences. I know I do.