Clasped chopsticks

Raymond Klutse
6 min readAug 25, 2023

--

Better be unborn than untaught, for ignorance is the root of misfortune — Plato

I’m sure you are wondering what this new piece is going to be about. “Is Raymond going to talk about food or about moving to Asia?” , some of you may be asking. As tempting as the latter is, I don’t think that’s part of my immediate plans, but let’s see what the future holds.

I finally feel ready to talk about this funny story only because my friend mentioned it in one of the episodes of his podcast(The Conversations in the Dark Podcast), and it was such a good laugh. In retrospect, I look at how funny the event was, although at the time, it was somewhat somber.

Okay, let’s dig in.

Fried Koay Teow photo by reblchick

My upbringing exposed me to a blend of different cultures and backgrounds. I grew up in Ghana for most of my life, but traveling to different countries has been a great luxury my father gave me since I was a child. Having people from different countries visit Ghana, some of which were actually family, has pretty much been a norm for me. Also, my dad’s work moves him around a lot, so with each trip, he comes back embracing more of the culture of wherever he visited.

Growing up, using a fork and a knife at the table was non-negotiable. I learned table etiquette at home, not because I was going to meet the Queen someday, but because my parents knew how important it was in the world we live in and in society at large. However, table etiquette varies across cultures. One could argue that one of the ways of eating food with your hands in most parts of Africa is archaic; hence, civilization brought the use of stainless steel as an extra flavor to our delicacies. Although I understand this argument and agree with some portions of it, such as the health implications of using germ-infected hands that aren’t washed properly — and this is quite common since clean water isn’t readily accessible to many Africans, — it doesn’t rule out the fact that cutlery varies across nations. Some prefer metal alloys, while others opt for wood, plastic or their fingers.

So Good Fried Food GIF By Gangway Advertising

One time at work leading up to lunch break, some of my colleagues were stealing glances at the second hand of the clock as they explored the plethora of options available at nearby restaurants on their phones. For some reason, my taste buds gyrated at the sound of Chinese, and I didn’t stop the music. Immediately when it was time, a few of them dashed out to pick up the orders, while the rest of us stayed behind to finish up some work, or stare at our endless scrolls of social media feeds.

About 30 minutes elapsed and soon they were back, with brown bags full of different delicacies. Mine was in a round brown bowl and it was a true beauty. The meal came with two sets of cutlery: wooden chopsticks and a woooden fork. Now like I said earlier, my dad exposed me to other cultures when I wa growing up so chopsticks weren’t new to me. Although the kind I was used to were plastic, and they always sat in the kitchen drawer because none of us at home had the tiem and patience required to munch our food with chopsticks. On this day for some reason, the thought of using chopsticks sounded like a good idea.

The chopsticks my food came with were clasped to each other. The engineer cum “inclusiveness-sympathiser” in me thought that it was creatively clasped to look like a fork, to help people who don’t know how to use chopsticks to be able to not die of starvation. Now, I know how to use chopsticks, but let’s just say muscle memory wasn’t very much a friend to me at the table. I decided to grab the chopsticks and hold them still clasped with a little opening at the ends, just so I could grab some of the noodles out of my bowl; and it worked!

I was very impressed by how someone had meticulously sat down to think about many others who wanted a pseudo chopsticks experience. Every bite, crushing and dissolving of each noodle made me more fulfilled and appreciative of this great invention. I dug the chopstick into the bowl, twirled them and then proceeded to devouring it with all joy and excitement. I was indeed enjoying my meal, and so was everyone. Small talk was floating around and people were exchanging ideas on different topics, while I was still for some reason fascinated by the brilliant engineering that was displayed in the clasped chopsticks.

I was somewhat close to the finishing line when suddenly a colleague who had held his tongue for so long and wanted to assist me with my meal interjected, “Hey Raymond, do you know you can actually break these sticks and use them?” At the sound of his words, the chopsticks broke in my hands. It was as though they were screaming for help and I was too deaf to hear. All eyes were clamped on me and a few waited and watched to see my next action.

I wouldn’t call it telepathy but for some reason I felt like the thoughts around me became very loud. Did he know he could break them? Did he know how to use chopsticks? Should someone get him a fork as he has been startled for a long time? Many potential questions surfed on the table of food and suspense, and there I was, about two more rounds to go with my meal and my clasped chopsticks hitherto a source of great innovation now costing me some embarrassment.

I tried to let my hands respond to muscle memory but I was frozen because all eyes were on me. To save me further embarrassment, I just laughed it off and said, “Why worry about these sticks when I can finish my last race with my best shoes — a fork.” The colleague who unintentionally brought unwarranted attention to me and my Chinese bow now felt some form of remorse. He apologsed and I just smiled becuase it was’t a big deal after all.

I finished the meal feeling a bit somber in a mixture of feelings. I was first angry at myself for not using the plastic chopsticks in my drawer at home long enough for muscle memory to become less distant. Secondly, I was somewhat pissed that I didn’t know about clasped wooden chopsticks. Lastly, I was livid that I didn’t just pick up the fork that came with the meal. But after giving it some thought, I realized that I didn’t have to be livid in about anything because I genuinely didn’t know. It took someone pointing out my ignorance— maybe not in the way I wanted — however, that’s how I learned that some chopsticks come as conjoined twins.

Photo by Surface on Unsplash

This event brought laughter and tears to everyone I narrated it to when I got home. My friends and family sympathized while also embalming me with laughter. Although it wasn’t very much the response I was expecting, it was very much needed as I needed to understand that I could make a somewhat embarrassing event into a laughable one. After all, we’ve all not known something before.

There are a ton of lessons that can be plucked from this story but I’ll just like to focus on a few:

  1. It’s okay not to know about something, everyone had to learn everything they know.
  2. The world around you will keep looking at you even if you think no one is watching but it’s up to you to know how to respond.
  3. Embarrassing moments can be laughable events, don’t sweat it.
  4. Don’t be afraid to try something new, just be wise about it.
  5. Learn how to use chopsticks. Fix that muscle memory 😂.

I hope you found this interesting, funny and helpful. You’re free to laugh as you want. Like Bebe Winans says ,Laughter does good just like medicine.

--

--

Raymond Klutse
Raymond Klutse

Written by Raymond Klutse

A multipod, navigating my creative mind as I do tech || 2 Cor 4:7

No responses yet