learn to in-line skate

My skates have just been sitting in my kitchen since last December.

I need to try them out again, but I wish I had someone to coach me. I don’t want to go to the park at midnight (really the only time I can go) and get jeered at by Korean men again. That made me super uncomfortable. I don’t even care if they look at me from a distance, but walking up to me, laughing and making comments is NOT cool. :/

I really want to be able to skate!

I went to the park and put my skates on. Then I spent five minutes trying to figure out how to move. I was awkwardly pushing my feet back and forth, flailing my arms, and getting nowhere.

But a nice policeman soon came along and spent 45 minutes tutoring me! He told me to move my feet kind of in a “V” shape, not a straight line. Also, he taught me to actually lift each foot an inch or two off the ground as I pushed off into the next move. Finally, he also told me to keep my feet close together, do each motion as smoothly as possible, and go slowly!

I must have spent two hours practicing. By the end of the night, I was moving somewhat quickly. I didn’t have a single fall, but I could feel some painful blisters forming on the sides of my big toes. Skating didn’t feel as graceful as I imagine it to be. Of course, this was only my first time, but I felt like I was trying to walk through two feet of snow, not glide around smoothly.

It will be fun to practice again tomorrow, if my blisters are OK.

Thanks, Mr. Policeman. It would have taken five hours for me to learn what you taught me in 20 minutes. :-)

I just bought my skates and equipment on Friday night. Today I practiced balancing on them. It was very easy. I didn’t feel shaky at all. However, I’m sure tonight will be scary. I plan to practice moving on them for an hour or two.