Teddy Travels

Teddy\'s Notes

Jiyeon looked at my fur and said nothing for a moment. Then she said my coat looked dry. I said I wasn't aware it had a moisture level. She tried recommending a moisturiser to me, but I declined as I was unsure if she was trying to sell it to me.

I had a shower and used her shampoo and conditioner. My fur did feel different afterwards. I decided it was best not to admit this to Jiyeon.

Teddy\'s Notes

Jiyeon had already decided what she wanted and from which vendor. I was impressed with her confidence in negotiating prices. I stood slightly behind her and tried to look busy.

Back at home she ate the thing that was moving. I asked if it was still alive when she ate it. She said probably. I ate a biscuit from my bag. She looked at the biscuit and then at me and then back at the biscuit.

Teddy\'s Notes

Jiyeon knew the history of most buildings. She pointed out a house that was four hundred years old and said "that's older than me" and laughed. I felt the laughter was unnecessary. I'm still learning the culture.

The light was extraordinary. Someone helped take a photo of us, but it did not capture my face as I had intended.

Teddy\'s Notes

Jiyeon hired two bikes. I sat in the basket of hers because I didn't feel the other one was the right size. I ate two biscuits during this. She glanced down twice. I made eye contact each time and she looked away. She managed a smile for the photo. That was the only time.

She told me I looked rounder than in Kyoto. She asked if I was going to do anything about it. I said I wasn't aware it was a problem until now. I attributed this to the cat food diet she had maintained throughout, and the number of biscuits I had required. We didn't speak the rest of the evening.

Teddy's Notes

I had identified a machine I wanted to use and stood next to it. A woman who arrived after me took it without acknowledging that I was waiting.

A trainer approached and began correcting my form. I had asked him not to do this. He said my posture suggested otherwise. I asked him to define "otherwise." He demonstrated the correct technique using his own body, staring straight ahead into nothing. This continued in silence for several minutes.

I was there for twenty minutes. Seven of those were exercise. Nothing about my body had improved. On the way back, I stopped at 7-Eleven for a takeaway dinner. I didn't feel like going to a restaurant, as it would only have brought back memories of Jiyeon.

Teddy's Notes

I was seated next to a man who sent his food back twice. By the third time, he was describing what he wanted using hand gestures. In doing so, he knocked his drink onto my lap, but he was apologetic. The kitchen, as far as I could tell, had stopped functioning properly.

My order arrived fifty minutes after I placed it, and it was the wrong dish. I decided it was too much hassle to complain, so I ate it in silence.

As I was leaving, the man's food arrived again. He nodded and began eating with the satisfaction of someone who had achieved something. He winked at me as if we'd both been through something together. We had not been through anything together. I walked back to the hotel, fur still damp, still thinking about him.