Sitting Test

I know this is going to sound really strange, but I have been building towards being able to sit on my legs Japanese-style for 2 hours. I want to be able to do a tea ceremony here, and for that I need to be able to sit for at least two hours without moving. When I first got here, I could only sit on my legs for a few minutes, then they would fall asleep and I would have to move them a lot. When we talk about this sitting style amongst our foreign selves, blood clots and circulation always comes up. But I am determined to conquer this sitting test; if they can do it and not die of a blood clot, so can I. Being able to sit on your legs for hours is what people consider part of the Japanese identity. It's kind of like this; one time this preschool teacher pulled back her eyes while pointing at mine and said "We're Japanese, we have eyes like this. Cassandra sensei doesn't, so she's not Japanese." She could have thrown in; "and we can sit on our legs for hours without moving, and she can't." (This is a generalization of course because there are plenty of people here that can't) Throughout the year, I have gotten through endless school ceremonies by watching the clock and timing how long I could sit on my legs. I am very thankful for the number of practice sessions I have had because of them. During these ceremonies, all of us women teachers watch each other out of the corner of our eyes and agree on an unwritten rule: the last one to move their legs wins. The first time I beat some of the older ones, I could see them watching me closely whenever we stood up to see if I would stretch my muscles or wince in pain. It isn't enough to sit on your legs for hours, you also cannot show pain or stretch. They believe that it should come as natural as using chopsticks for you to truly be Japanese. One teacher visibly moved her head up and down my body and said 'Doesn't it hurt you?" Nope. They are amazed at how long I can sit and are determined to uphold their view that only true Japanese can sit on their legs for hours. However, I am just as determined to shatter their beliefs. I can now sit on my legs for an hour and a half without moving. As soon as I can sit for two hours, I will celebrate with an actual full-on tea ceremony. I think I can make it by December ... that will be my final sitting test.