My first morning here in Shanghai, having no more than five hours sleep, I met with the headmaster of the school to go over my teaching plans. Before we started we ate breakfast, not an American breakfast but a
Chinese breakfast which is very different. Our breakfast consisted of steamed buns with a filling of some sort and fried spring rolls with vinegar dipping sauce. Of course, we used chopsticks to eat our breakfast...not even one knife, fork, spoon in site!

So, weary-eyed, jet-lagged, and prompted by the enthusiasm of the headmaster I began to eat, or should I say attempted to eat. I think I probably worked up more of an appetite as I sat at the table trying to eat
my breakfast. My first attempt to just pick up the slippery spring roll with the chopsticks was unsuccessful ( not to mention my attempt to even get the spring roll in my mouth!). In fact, after so many unsuccessful
attempts, the headmaster just told me to eat with my hands. So did I? you bet I did, I was starving! It was after this breakfast, my first Chinese breakfast, in fact my first Chinese meal, that I decided I loathed
chopsticks.

A few days pass and I am eating lunch with some of my colleagues in the dining hall when the headmaster walks over to my table. He pats me on the back and acknowledges my progress with my chopstick skills. Yes, it is true I had been getting better eating with these "Chinese utensils", but even still after every meal I was last the person to finish or should I say semi-finish since I was not able to keep pace with everyone else.

Now, only a month has passed and in my apartment the only utensils in my kitchen are beautifully carved dark wooden bamboo chopsticks. I even have bought a unique container designed solely for chopsticks to dry after washings. I love chopsticks, now I even pride myself on the challenges I take at meal times by eating, slippery see-through noodles, peas, even rice! In fact, the other day I was with a friend eating at an Indian restaurant in the French concession downtown and found it strange to see the table set with silverware. I honestly had to take a second glance and almost a second lesson on how to use these "western utensils", it was really quite absurd!

So mom, remember those beginner chopstick sets we have at home, you know the red plastic ones that are connected at the top of which we have never even opened?! Well, please start practicing because I will be bringing home some new utensils for us...chopsticks!

那是我在上海的第一個早晨﹐睡了還不到五個鐘頭﹐就要和學校的校長一起探討我的教學計劃了。 談工作以前先吃早飯﹐吃的不是美式早點﹐而是極其困難的中餐。我們的早餐包括夾了某種餡的饅頭﹐還有可以沾醋的炸春卷。當然﹐我們是用筷子吃的早餐。根本沒有見到刀叉或勺子的影子﹗

就那樣﹐無精打彩的雙眼﹐時差還沒倒過來﹐我在校長的熱情招待下開始吃早餐﹐也許說是試著吃更確切。也許坐在桌前時我的胃口上來了。我第一次用筷子去夾滑溜溜的春卷時沒有成功﹐更
別提要用筷子把那春卷送到我嘴裡了﹗事實上﹐在經歷了無數次失敗後﹐校長告訴我我可以用手吃。你問我用手吃了嗎﹖我想我一定是用了﹐簡直太餓了﹗就是在吃了這次早餐--我的第一個中式早餐也是我第一次吃中國飯--以後﹐我開始痛恨筷子。

幾天以後﹐我和幾個同事正在食堂吃午飯﹐這時校長走過來﹐他拍拍我的背﹐肯定了我在使用筷子上的進步。不錯﹐我是在使用這些所謂中式餐具進食方面有了進步﹐但每頓吃飯我仍是最後一個吃完的﹐或者說那時我才吃了一半﹐我實在無法與別人保持一樣的速度。

現在﹐一個月過去了﹐我的廚房裡唯一的餐具就是那些深色的刻有美麗圖案的竹筷子。我甚至還買了一個專門用于晾乾筷子的特制的容器。我愛上了筷子﹐現在我為我自己在每次用餐時接受挑戰的勇氣而驕傲﹐不管是透明的滑溜溜的麵條﹐還是豆粒﹐甚至是米飯都不在話下﹗有一天﹐我和朋友在一家法租界市中心的印度餐館吃飯﹐發現桌上擺放著銀器時﹐ 竟感覺有些吃驚。坦率地說﹐我必須再細細打量這些西式餐具﹐ 要再想想怎麼用它們﹐這真是極其荒謬的感覺!

遠在美國的媽媽﹐還記得咱家的那些入門筷子麼﹖就是那些頂部連在一起的紅色塑料筷子﹖那些我們從來沒有打開過的筷子﹖你現在最好就開始練習使用它們﹐因為等我回美國的時候﹐筷子將成為咱家餐具的一部份!