Japan and Jerry Seinfeld

Ok, so I've been in Japan for 4 days now and I can't help but continue to think about Jerry Seinfeld. Why, you may ask? Well it has to do with a certain utensil....or pair of utensils if you call it that.


Its my second trip to Japan in the last 12 months so I don't know why it hit me more the second time than the first. But seriously...I've had 10 meals so far this time in Japan, and on every single one of them, my only choice was chopsticks. Oh wait, I was given a spatula of sorts to take some food off of a grill in front of me. But everywhere I look its chopsticks, chopsticks, and more chopsticks. And every meal I can't help but remember Jerry Seinfeld. This is from episode 90 and a similar rendidtion is from his standup DVD, "I'm telling you for the last time".

I think the thing I admire most about the Chinese is that they're hanging in there with the chopsticks. Because, if you think about it, you know, they've seen the fork... by now. I'm sure they've seen the spoon, they're going, "Yeah, yeah, they're OK... We're going to stay with the sticks." I mean, I don't know how they've missed it: thousands of years ago, Chinese farmer gets up, has his breakfast with the chopsticks, goes out and works all day in the field with a shovel... Hello?... Shovel! Not going out there ploughing 40 acres with a couple of pool cues.

I know he's referring to the Chinese, but the Japanese are the same way. They refuse to give in to the fork or the spoon. Seriously, I've gotten much better at the sticks but I still struggle a lot. I watch colleagues 40+ years old that have been in Japan their whole life and they continuously drop noodles, rice, vegetables, fish, etc.... I can't help but wonder....fork oh fork where are you?

I have noticed one major positive to the chopsticks. It takes so long to use them that you realize you are full much earlier in Japan. Perhaps this is why their population is so ridiculously skinny. I thought it was from the large amounts of walking, but I think it may be even more related to the slow eating and smaller portions. I mean, it would take 2.5 hours to eat a normal American portion with chopsticks.

Oh well....I'm having a blast, but it takes all that is within me to not start laughing out loud each time Seinfeld's lines run through my head at EVERY meal. I actually started giggling last night at dinner. If so much wasn't lost in translation, I'd recite the lines to my Japanese colleagues....but they probably would not find it funny at all. After all, its tradition.