Can't you understand and accept that the Japanese will always flatter you with your use of chopsticks, or the fact that you eat sushi, or sleep on a futon, or can speak Japanese and read kanji? They are genuinely impressed because most foreigners DON"T or CAN'T.
Oh bollocks!

I have met scads of westerners that use chopsticks. My 70 year old quite conservative grandmother can use chopsticks.
Almost every foreigner in Japan I've met eats Sushi and can sleep on a single matress on the floor.
Its plain ignorance to be shocked, amazed or even complimentry to assume we can't. In fact its downright insulting, its an assumption that we aren't as good as them in some respects.

And in terms of language, my father has been here two days and can say 'sumimasen'. Yet for some Japanese that would be enough for them to start laying on the over done compliments about how good his Japanese is.

Its patronising.

Anyway I have a tale I've told before.

Being a poor eigo sensei living alone I hit the local Lawsons konbini for my dinner bento about two or three times a week. During holidays I go more than that. Have done this for a year. Heck even had a friendly chat or two with one of the young guys there and tried to get the number of one of the girls.

So theres an older women who works there most nights.
She serves me a lot.
And EVERY time she serves me, she wont speak a word except to ask if I want it heated and EVERY time she uses gestures to ask if I want a fork, and EVERY time I ask that I instead want chopsticks (in Japanese).
This dance has been danced for a year. I'm a fairly obvious gaijin with big punk spiked hair and occasionally flashy clothes.

Yet she always asks if I want a fork.

Stupdity.

When I worked high volume retail I served scads more customers than she would and managed to remember regular customers and some small facts about them.