Chopsticks or Fork?

This is still a question that pops up for us when we eat at home. It's Day 56 but we aren't thinking like Koreans yet and we don't automatically reach for the chopsticks at dinner time. Sometimes a fork is nice to help us make it through a meal without getting finger cramps. We do, however, use them occasionally with our rice and noodle dishes (not the soup or pasta), but it's more for practice so we don't look inept when in public. The chopsticks we have at home are wooden so we're getting along fine with them. But when we go to restaurants, we aren't given a choice and they give us stainless steel ones. These things take all the fun out of it. They slip around and become unruly in your hands. Your hands start feeling like some dysfunctional part of your body being manipulated by a 2 thin pieces of metal. It's beyond frustrating. The travel writer, Bill Bryson, once wrote that it's amazing how Asian cultures are responsible for so many advancements in technology and still think that eating with two sticks is civilized. I agree. We have found other uses for these steel chopsticks. Jenn uses them to hold her hair in place. They are good for digging hair and grime from clogged tub drains. And they are perfect for prying gum off the sole of a shoe. As for eating, give me the wooden ones or give me a fork. While eating at The Marche on Thanksgiving, we noticed that nobody was using chopsticks. This was unusual to see in a restaurant in Korea, but it was quite a welcome change. And, of course, last weekend we went The Outback and again not a chopstick to be seen. Now, eating that 8 ounce steak without a knife and fork would have been tricky. Below is just a random collection of pictures taken at some restaurants we've been to in the past 2 months.