The hardest thing for me to do in Korean is to sit Indian style on the floor in restaurants. I have to angle my size 13 feet under the table and push my knees down so everything fits. The tables are very low. You are not allowed to wear shoes. This makes it easier to fit your feet under the table. It is more painful though. Once I get my legs crossed and feet under the table I have only won half the battle. Sitting like that for more than 20 minutes is a true test of will. My feet are shaped so that the bones on the side of my feet and ankle are pressed directly downward on the floor. My feet tend to go numb. Feels great, lets you know you are alive! I thought I had worked at becoming fairly flexible the last few years. I am as limber as an I-beam compared to the people here. They might be related to Gumby somehow. I think his statue might have been somewhere behind all the Buddhas in the parks I visited. They have been sitting like this for so many years their legs and feet just flop into position like rubber bands. It is really impressive.
I have started stretching the joints and tendons required to sit like this everyday. I would like to sit through a dinner without having to stretch. It is considered rude, but I am a Me Guke, American. I do not know any better. Really this is not as hard as trying to learn the language, but it is a physical challenge I am losing for now.
PS- Do not take the Gumby pics too seriously, not making a statement on religion.
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