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That time a Chinese coworker pointed out my chopstick mistake after 20 years
I grew up using chopsticks the way most Americans do, kind of jabbing at food and hoping for the best. Last month I had lunch with a colleague from Guangzhou who gently told me I was holding them all wrong. She showed me how the bottom stick stays completely still while the top one does all the work. I had been moving both sticks like a pair of tongs for two decades without realizing it. After a few days of practice it made eating dumplings and slippery noodles so much easier. It got me thinking about how many small cultural details we just never learn unless someone takes the time to show us. Has anyone else had a moment where a local pointed out something basic you had been doing backwards?
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the_ben8d ago
Your grandma was using "improper" technique her whole life? Actually I find that really hard to believe. I mean, she grew up in China surrounded by people eating with chopsticks every single day. Somebody would have said something eventually if she was truly doing it wrong. The way I see it, there's a difference between "works okay" and "works well". You could drive a car with your knees but that doesn't make it a good idea. After switching my grip I realized I had been fighting the food for 20 years instead of just letting the chopsticks do their job. The bottom stick staying still is literally the whole point - it gives you actual control instead of just clamping down like a pair of salad tongs. And I've never seen anybody with proper technique struggle more with noodles than someone doing the tong thing, that just sounds backwards to me.
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Gotta disagree with you here honestly. Holding chopsticks wrong for 20 years clearly worked fine for you since you were still eating dumplings and noodles without any issues. If it ain't broke don't fix it right? I feel like this whole thing about the "correct" way is just cultural gatekeeping. Like my grandma uses "improper" chopstick technique her whole life in China and nobody ever told her she was doing it wrong because she fed herself just fine. Plus that bottom stick staying still thing is actually less efficient for grabbing certain foods. I've seen people who were taught the "proper" way struggle way more with slippery noodles than someone using the tong method. Sometimes these rules just make things harder for no good reason.
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