Worshiping your elders

Second night with my host family. I still don't know their names, besides apacii, amma, nangii, loku malii and podi malii. And attamma of course. No serious mishaps so far, although I think I may have shown disrespect to my muttamma (grandmother's mother?). Even my attamma worshiped her, and I just stood there. In the car, attamma and apacii were talking in Sinhala, when attamma said in response to something apacii said: It is ok, she does not know the customs.

I know the only reason I feel uncomfortable groveling at the feet of another person is because in my culture, it's an absolutely pathetic sign of weakness and subordination. To debase yourself to the extreme that you would get down on your hands and knees in front of another is unthinkable to a person with any self-respect. Here, "worshiping" your elders is a way to show respect. I wonder what customs we have in America that are traditional signs of respect that would make someone else feel extremely uncomfortable to perform.

I'm still debating whether or not I should worship attamma or not. As much as I want to just be normal here, this is incredibly difficult. Sandamali said that it wasn't at all necessary to do so, but that I would become attamma's favorite if I did. But then that makes me wonder if I should do that for apacii and amma too, since they're also my elders. Does it show them disrespect if I don't? 

What extremes do you go to in order to assimilate into another culture? It makes a difference that I'm going home in four months. I'm not living here forever, so in  respect to that, it doesn't matter if I choose to ignore certain customs or traditions. But is it detrimental to my experience here? I say that I want to be immersed and fully experience a new culture, yet so far, I've refused to step outside my comfort zone. I speak in English, I don't try very hard to speak in Sinhala and I'm debating whether or not to go shopping with ammaa tomorrow or with the rest of my ISLE group. Choice of least resistance: ISLE group. Potentially awkward and difficult and emotionally draining choice: ammaa. Probably better in the long run? Ammaa.