I first became really interested in eating with chopsticks a few years ago. I was making a pick up at a warehouse in New Jersey and most of the people working there were from Vietnam. I happened to be there when their lunch break came around.
As I sat in the break room watching these guys eating their lunch, one older fellow piqued my curiosity. He was eating a fish/rice dish out of a cup with chopsticks. It was very interesting to watch his expert use of these ancient eating tools. I waited until he finished and asked him about them. He showed me how to hold them, and I fumbled around with them for a minute or two much to his amusement.
Finally, in his broken english, he explained that because I was a westerner I would never be able to use them correctly. A challenge! I do love a good challenge. At the first opportunity I bought a very nice pair of chopsticks; Japanese style which have a finer point than the chinese style and are supposed to be even harder to use.
I spent the following six months eating every meal with these things. At first it was very frustrating dropping food everywhere and basically making a mess of it. You haven't lived until you've tried to eat fried eggs with chopsticks. But I refused to give up. I doggedly went at each meal with these asian tools.
Eventually my skill with them improved and I became very adept in their use. I would eat in Chinese places and get compliments on my skill with the chopsticks. They were often suprised to see a white guy show up with his own chopsticks, but pleased at what they perceived as my acceptance of 'their ways' as one gentleman put it.
I happened to be back at that warehouse in NJ one day after about a year and a half. I made a point of using the chopsticks while they guys were eating and the old gentleman who first showed me how to hold them was very pleased and impressed at how much I had learned. Suddenly this white American truck driver was like one of the family with these guys. They were all smiles and back patting whenever I showed up there.
If you've never had occassion to learn to use chopsticks or to become proficient in their use I highly recommend trying it. Eating with them causes you to pay much more attention to your food. You become more focused on your meal as you're not simply "shoveling it in". I still enjoy using them and do so regularly. I now own about a dozen pairs of them. Some are very beautiful enameled ones with designs painted on them. Enameled chopsticks are the equivalent of fine silverware.
I don't recommend using enamled chopsticks to learn with. They are slippery and it takes a great deal of skill to eat with them. Plain bamboo is far better as they afford a better grip on the food. Give it a try, if nothing else it will amuse others to watch you.