Chopsticks, or knives and forks--which are best? Not which are the most intriguing, or cause the most hilarity, but which really and truly are the most useful for their purpose--that of conveying food to one's mouth in a convenient and graceful manner. Don't condemn Ann offhand. If I were to ask _you_ this question, what answer would _you_ give? "Well--really--" you say. "After all--" Yes. That's just it. You, and Ann, and millions more can't help realizing (or is it feeling?) that your way _is_ best. But what about the millions in China and Japan? How would they answer the question? Did you ever stop to think that their reaction would be just as immediate, and their answer just as sure? And I think I am safe in saying that a larger proportion of them have actually tried using the other person's implements than we have. When a group of ex-China missionaries get together at home and go to a Chinese restaurant for a meal, the first thing they do after ordering is to request that the food be served in bowls, and they be supplied with chopsticks instead of knives and forks. Why? Ask any of them. The reply you will probably get is, "Oh, it doesn't taste the same when eaten with knives and forks!" And the strange part about it is that it is really true. "But," you say, "chopsticks are so difficult to use!" Not at all! You just need a little practice. Even knives and forks are difficult for beginners to manage. You would know that if you had watched as many beginners (adults) try to use them as I have. "No, but you can't cut anything with them!" Of course you can't. The kitchen is the place for cutting up food. To serve a slab of meat on a plate, and expect the eater to saw off pieces with a dull knife--it's utterly barbarous! Chinese food is properly prepared, bite-size, in the kitchen. "Oh? But what about soup or gravy? You can't eat _them_ with chopsticks!" Quite true; neither can you eat them with knife and fork. Chinese eat soup with a spoon, or drink it from a bowl. "Well, chopsticks are awkward, in any case!" Awkward? What are you talking about? They are just like pincers--you nip a bite and pick it up daintily, instead of spearing, or shoveling, as you do with a fork. It's amazing how hard it is for an American (I won't speak for other nationalities!) to come to the place where he will appreciate the fact that the ways of people in other lands are in many cases better for them than our ways would be. If you are going to the foreign field in order to teach "the American way of life," you had better stay at home. In saying this I do not mean that Americans do not have some skills that it might be advantageous for the people on some foreign mission fields to learn. But any missionary who has the feeling that his ways of doing things are better just because they are "civilized" ways, or "American" ways, or just his own ways, is heading for trouble.