Most of the first European winter as a resident here has been spent trying to settle in so winter sports opportunities have been limited. However when Sats mentioned that ice skating was possible close by we along with another friend decided to give it a try.
Now I have never done roller skating, roller blading .. in fact the only thing which i have done close to having external medium supporting my feet for enabling motion is to walk using stilts. So of course you can imagine the situation i found myself when i put on the skates - People....skating REALLY HURTS! Both physically as well as emotionally. I could not keep myself up straight on the rink while everyone else including little kids were gracefully moving around me. The other thing I learn't is that it is difficult to keep oneself up on the rink but it is even more difficult to get up once one has fallen. A skating rink is a good teacher, teaching an important lesson - when down be down!
Anyways, swallowing whatever little pride i had left I took help of a "skating assistant" - a wooden figurine of around 3 ft in height in the shape of a penguin with skates as webbed feet and started navigating gingerly the contours of the rink holding its ears :-O. The penguin didn't make me an expert but it helped me in not plonking myself on the ice or bumping into people. By the end of 2 hours I was in a position to slowly walk around without assistance and though I fell around atleast 10 times and had bruises in all sorts of mentionable and non mentionable places I do intend to go back again and make progress without depending on my friend the "penguin".
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