After getting gas and stopping by the bakery, I drove all the way to the north of Maebashi, an hour drive, to go ice skating at the rink up there. Gunma International Club was having an event. Admission to the rink was quite pricey, $10, but skate rental rather cheap. The skates were pretty bad, no ankle support whatsoever. It was rough for most of the group as they were all beginners. A showed up as she goes skating there a lot and is really good. The rink started out pretty empty and got fuller. It was interesting to watch the pro skaters practicing with their coach in the center. I got used to ice skating again pretty quickly. So thankful my parents made me take lessons as a kid.



I had to leave a little early because I stupidly forgot my painting at home and was planning on going to an art share night in Takasaki afterward. That means instead of just driving the thirty minutes there next, I got to drive the hour home and then the 40 minutes back to Takasaki. Sigh. The art share night was good though! It was cool to see people’s musical performances, poems, essays, and artwork. M brought a bunch of his instruments including a violin! I didn’t have any sheet music, but got to pluck around a little bit. The cafe was very hippy with yummy food and interesting wall decor from around the world. People got pretty dressed up for the event too.

P.S. On Tuesday, I got my first Valentine's chocolate from one of my students! All the girls make homemade chocolates. It was so delicious. I'm so lucky!