Scarlett Cayford

When I moved to Japan, I had pretty shiny visions of my Japanese self. I’d be demure, technologically savvy, adept at sushi-rolling and so so thin. I’d wear short sassy skirts with long socks and clunky heels; my hair would be thick and to my waist, and I’d eat raw eel and raw eggs with aplomb.

What are gears? Are they a real thing? Are they like when I felt sick when I was younger and my Mother would give me a chewable vitamin and tell me it was medicine and it would make me feel better? And so, if I am told that you have gears, and I’m all, ‘Gears, yes!’ it is understood that I can ride up ridiculous hills, and it will be like, what hill? Placebo gears, yes or no?