The Dentist, Dundee Sushi and the Impending #indyref

It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke...a dentist walks into the Dundee sushi bar and says, "So what do you think about the Referendum?" But really it's just a quick collection of thoughts about things Scottish, different, and unique that I have experienced in the last week.

 Take the dentist.  Both Paul and I went for our checkups and cleanings this week.  We go to a National Health Service (NHS) dentist, because it's cheaper, and I couldn't think of a reason why we shouldn't. But here's the difference between going to the dentist in the US vs. in Scotland: In both places, they offer you a cleaning every 6 months.  In the US, this means a nice cleaning and polishing with a well-trained dental hygienist, and a little visit with the dentist.  The whole appointment takes 30-45 minutes. Without insurance (and in the States we only had dental insurance half the time) this costs you about $90-$100.  In Scotland, the appointment is 20 minutes long.  The dentist, assisted by the dental nurse, power-washes your teeth with water and then polishes them (quickly) with the same kind of toothpaste used in the States. Visiting a NHS dentist, this costs you (with today's exchange rate) $17.20.  Another difference - in the States, they start cleaning your children's teeth (and taking your money) when they are around 3 years old.  Here, the NHS doesn't reimburse dentists for cleaning the teeth of anyone under 18. According to our dentist, dentists will clean children's teeth for free if they're "really bad." We're kind of equivocal - for two years, you get what you pay for, and dental care is minimal - but so is the cost.  But the Scots have notoriously bad teeth, and I wonder if the dentist situation has something to do with it.

Visiting the new sushi restaurant in Dundee was another lesson in cultural difference. I had previously been told by my boss that sushi was seen as kind of "sissy" food in Dundee, and that was why there was no Japanese food.  But apparently enough people were ready to overcome this stereotype that TWO places serving sushi opened up this summer.  The full restaurant, where we went for my birthday, was expensive - not a big surprise for a sushi place.  It was also very salmon-heavy.  Almost all the sushi had a salmon element - perhaps one of the markers of a Scottish sushi place.  The other sushi place - a juice bar that serves sushi on the side - sells sushi by the piece, so you can buy (approximately) 1/3 of a California roll for a pound ($1.65).  When I ordered my pieces of California roll, I was asked if I wanted crab or salmon in it...I didn't understand at first - what do you mean, salmon? There's no salmon in a California roll! The other ingredient that shows up in Dundee sushi is mayonnaise. I'm not sure if this is to hold the sushi together, or if there is some other meaning to it.  But my boss (originally from London, and a sushi aficionado)  mentioned it and I noticed it at both places. Avoiding the mayonnaise-containing rolls, it tasted like regular sushi. 

Lamppost citizenship near our house

Finally, the independence referendum -coming up in 16 days.  We have received a number of booklets through our letterbox from both sides, the Yes literature painting an impossibly bucolic picture of an Independent Scotland, and the Better Together (or, No) literature, branded with the British government logos, a bit stodgily stating the wisdom of staying together. Signs and stickers in windows are multiplying, and I'm beginning to see a few "No, Thanks" stickers and signs interspersed with the Yes ones. People are starting to come out of the woodwork to win you over to their side - a friend who's lived in Scotland most of her life, but is originally English, recently posted on Facebook that it's time to "nail her colours to the mast" for Better Together, and the research participants I've talked with about the #indyref seem evenly divided, and even a bit apathetic for the younger (18-20 year old) voters.  And, of course, NPR published a puff piece on Scotland's National Drink - no, not Scotch whisky, but Glasgow-made Irn Bru (pronounced Iron Brew), and orange soda beloved by Scots, mainly because it is Scottish.  By the way, although Scotland is small (in population), there are plenty of independent nations smaller than Scotland (see this link for the Rand McNally "smallest 10" by population).  The most recent Scottish population figure is 5.3 million in 2011 (whereas the sheep population, as of 2013, is 6.57 million - you know you were wondering.)

Irn Bru image from Flickr; Edinburgh train bridge behind it.