The Most Emasculating Fork in the Universe

So if you don't know...I don't much like to cook. Now, if you couple that with the fact that I can't read Korean and eating out is unbelievably cheap, you can pretty much see why I haven't made a "home-cooked meal" yet. That being said, forks are not common here. I've been practicing with chopsticks and have started to get pretty decent with them. I can even eat noodles with them! So today I decided to try out a place I had walked by every day for the last week. They have these frying pans in the middle of your table and they cook the food right in front of you. It's pretty cool because they are damn good with their little spatulas and it's quite entertaining. So while this stuff is cooking, they brought out the typical kimchis and a small salad. I finish watching this guy cook my meal (which all told cost me only 6000won and included a soda), the manager brings me over a fork and puts it down on my table.

Now, we aren't talking about a regular fork here. We're talking a fork that is obviously meant for a small child. This thing is yellow, thick plastic, and is covered in pictures of cartoon Asian children. Let's not forget that I am sitting alone in this restaurant too. I hate eating out alone but it has become a necessity as the only American I have met here is my co-worker Spencer and he has a life too. Now, like I said earlier my chopstick skills have been getting pretty good...but unfortunately how to eat rice still eludes me. I gave it a few weak attempts, put my chopsticks down, and stared at the fork. I get stared at everywhere I go here...I am one of the VERY few Americans in Jeonju, as well as the fact that I am about 4 inches taller and quite a bit heavier than everyone here....so I can feel the eyes on me. Eventually my desire to finish my meal won out, so I defeatedly picked up the fork and began to eat my lunch. Every few minutes I switched back to my chopsticks hoping to score a few points with the Koreans watching me. At least I tried right?

I am very much so looking forward to my books being delivered in a few days so at least I can read textbooks while I eat...if only to give the illusion that I am not some pathetic lonely American with no friends (which I am!).