In the spring in my junior year in Culver, I brought my friend, Jonathan, to Korea. Jonathan and I have been to various countries. We were exposed to various cultures and traditions. We mostly compared the advantages we could have through having experienced both cultures of the U.S. and Korea. The most interesting conversation we had was held in a Chinese restaurant in my hometown.

Jonathan and I roamed around in the Bundang, a suburb of Seoul, and decided to have Chinese food for lunch. While waiting for our food, I showed him the chopsticks. He had never tried using chopsticks before he went to that restaurant. Since chopsticks are not the instruments he could learn easily, he asked why he should bother himself to use them. I tried to convince him that chopsticks are the best utensils; however, I couldn't.

For my whole life, I believed chopsticks are handier instruments than forks. The conversation with Jonathan convinced me that none of them is more superior to another. With chopsticks, one can pick up and drop and tear without any other utensil's aid. But one cannot scoop hard boiled rice with chopsticks. On the other hand, with forks, one can scoop, slice, hold. But one cannot drop the food without other utensil's aid. Chopsticks and forks have diverse strengths and weakness. It's hard to tell which one is better

What I learned from chopsticks and forks is there is no culture that has supremacy over other cultures. It is wise to collect the merits from different cultures and combine them to create a better environment rather than choosing a single culture you prefer.