ice skating and skating with words

saturday night some friends and i went ice skating in our neighborhood. there are ice skating rinks set up all over the city, and it's about 80 cents to rent skates and use the ice for an hour. i learned yesterday that it isn't really possible to stay on the ice for a full hour without having my face get nearly covered with a thin layer of ice. there are little shacks by the rinks where a person gets skates and should also come in to warm up every 20 minutes or so. i've learned my lesson and will definitely take advantage of the little wood stove next time i go skating. my goal is to go once a week for the rest of the winter.

this morning i had to tell a friend that i won't be attending her cell group. the day and location of her meeting don't really work for my schedule. not to mention that she speaks no english, and i don't speak enough mongolian to really be a fully functioning member of her group. at first she seemed ok with it but then she started lecturing me. this was rather difficult for me to take on several levels. i felt like a person who was trying to ice skate for the first time and couldn't seem to find her balance. thankfully i was able to talk with another friend about the situation and was assured that i am free to make my own decisions and she shouldn't have been pressuring me. even so, i don't know how much of my sense of being out of balance was solely based on language and how much of it is just different personalities and cultures.

here's to skating all winter! hopefully i will skate more in the literal sense than in my communications with friends. :)