Chopsticks

Kings living in Hue, the Imperial City, during Vietnam's olden days used chopsticks during their meals. For every meal, a brand new pair. Chopsticks were NEVER reused (so I shudder to think of the steals and deals if they had eBay back them. Imagine auctioning off ivory chopsticks used by your emperor. The kitchen staffs and servants could go crazy with those bids). They were made of materials like wood, bamboo, metal, bone, silver, ivory, etc., not the cheap wooden ones that we see nowadays.

The Wikiality of chopstick usage in China is that there are 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks used each year. No wonder there's a 5% tax when buying chopsticks. That's a lot of trees!

As a gift to each one of us on our last night in Nha Trang, VN (Friday night, 20Jan07), Allan gave each one of us a pair of chopsticks. They might have been purchased in Sing or Malay or VN, but they were beautiful for the meaning they bore.

At the end of the evening, as each one of us left the quiet beach and headed back to Hotel 96, I stayed back to talk with Candis, and Allan and Gary returned to find the two of us sitting under the stars. In our conversation, I realized that Allan's gift meant so much more than just eating utensils to remind us of the meals we shared together on this trip. Yes, when we look at them, we'll remember the many times we laughed over someone's fumbling fingers trying to clap the two sticks together to pick up a piece of mushroom or a piece of bok choy in the restaurant. It's more than that. We've shared this experience together, and we've been marked - as individuals and as a group. We've undergone these transformations under very specific contexts and have been bonded by very special ties.

Chopsticks work in pairs. You cannot separate them and use only one stick (unless you were going for the spear-like utility). They must be paired together, work as a team, in order for you to pick up any food, in order for any results to show in your rice bowl. Imagine it -- all that rice gotten to with two slim wands. To get the tofu from the plate on the table into your bowl and then into your mouth, you must concentrate on keeping the chopsticks together. Working as a unit.

That is what we've become, each in our own way. We might not remain close friends, and most of us will inevitably lose touch along the way, throughout the years. Regardless, we'll remember this trip with fondness, I hope, and a deep sense of community.

Moi doi dua la mot cap, moi nhom nguoi la mot doan, mot cong dong.