the problem with chopsticks

Here is something I should have done a long time ago:

Stop using those disposable chopsticks.

I remember reading about this problem in Mandarin class before: people use disposable chopsticks too much, thus putting a large part of the country’s wood resources to waste.

The solution is as simple as it is obvious:

Get your own personal pair of chopsticks!

I bought mine in a grocery store in Hami. They’re made of stainless steel – easy to clean but a bit harder to handle than the wooden type – and cost about 4 RMB.

The most difficult part is trying to remember to take them with me whenever I go out to eat.

An anecdote from the other day in a small restaurant on the roadside – I had just taken my new chopsticks out and was getting ready to eat. One of the other guys pointed me out to his buddy and said: “check out that foreigner! He’s got his own chopsticks, you see? They’re made of pure silver and can protect him from poison!”

Well, almost.