The Wonder Blog

My cultural probe box greets me

A few weeks ago, a student at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design (yes, it's a long name for a place to work - we call it DJCAD)  took to the email listserv asking for volunteers for his senior project on Wonder.  His methodology was the cultural probe, which, to my knowledge, is a little bit like anthropology in a box or an envelope; no ethnographer doing interviews, but a variety of materials to think about, and to respond to through various means.  I got a disposable camera to snap pictures of everyday wonder, a wee diary to record information about my "wonder camera" snaps and other thoughts, an instruction to write a letter to my childhood self about wonder, and a set of postcards with images to which I was to record my responses. The last bit, which I want to share here, asked me to put together a collection of images related to wonder.  The instructions for this were very object-focused, and as I tried to collect the images, I found out that I am not a terribly object-focused person (though Paul would disagree, given my pack-rat nature...I hang onto things but I don't really care about them, I guess). Below are the images I chose, with the prompt in the caption:

Evokes a sense of wonder (2)

Evokes a sense of wonder (1)

The object on the left is a glass block commemorating the christening of  a ship at the Newport News Shipyard. My dad gave it to me when I was 4 or 5. It is also a prism, and is currently on my daughters' windowsill to make rainbows when it's sunny.  The object on the right is a partly finished sock monkey. I make sock monkeys for babies - if you know me, your child may have one! This one is being co-sewn by Audrey and I for her teacher who's set to go out on maternity leave in December.

Environment that evokes a sense of wonder

East Sands beach, St. Andrews.  I like it because beaches are sources of rocks and shells (see later picture) and also because of the St. Andrews Cathedral in the background - wonderful architecture.

Object you do not tire of exploring: rocks and shells!

Object that brings you joy

 Paul made this for Valentines Day one year early in our marriage, a little sculpture with our initials.

Object you find beautiful for its aesthetics: part of my egg collection

Object you find beautiful for its intrinsic qualities: one of Claire's first recognizable drawings

Drawn just a few days before her third birthday, she says it's a bug eating an apple and darned if it doesn't look like that.

An object that inspires joy and discovery: books, of course!

I didn't include these in my image collection but they are a few more wonderful things:

Audrey trimming the Christmas tree, December 2013

A rainbow that ended on Magdalen Green near our house, October 2014

I hope you've enjoyed a peek into my Wonder Blog.  Please leave a comment about the things or environments you find wonderful!

On the Road Again: Dundee to Bath and Back Again

It's the October holidays, so it is time to stop climbing the walls, and get out of town.  In Scotland, holidays mean 2 weeks off school for the kids, and though I usually can't take quite that much time, I did take a week.  This was plenty of time to drive down to Bath, meet up with my parents, tour around, completely wear them out, and send them back to the States.

I say "we" drove, but really it was Paul *now a licensed UK driver* who drove our rented minivan (called a "full size MPV" in the UK, reflecting that is a much larger car than you typically see on the road) from Dundee to Bath.  Now, the UK is a small country.  We drove across Scotland and almost down to the Southwestern corner, and it took approximately 8.5 hours (with stops).  Try THAT in the United States.  Leaving D.C., you'd still be in Virginia! From Tucson, you'd only make it to Albuquerque. It was still a long drive, and we laid down the law to the girls.  "Look," Paul said, "This is going to be a long drive.  It's going to be boring. I don't want to hear about it. This is part of the family vacation, the long, boring getting-there-and-coming-back part. No one will ask "Are we there yet?" Do you understand?"  To their credit, they mostly didn't ask.

And of course once we got to Bath and found Nana and Papa already there, all the long boring hours were forgotten.  The weather cooperated - mostly - which is to say it was mainly cloudy, with strategically timed rainstorms that coincided with our indoor activities. We even had a little sun, pulling off all out raincoats and sweaters to soak in the rays and the 17-degree temperatures (practically 63 degrees - considering it's already autumn in Dundee and about 10-11 (50ish) degrees there, it was balmy!)

Zipping about in our trusty minivan we hopped through history in and around Bath - back to Prehistory at Stonehenge (Paul: I can't live in the UK and NOT visit Stonehenge; he was suitably impressed) and Avebury (where you can actually get close to the stones, and the sheep...)

..through Roman times (the Roman Baths, in the city of Bath itself),

 the 12th-15th centuries (Wells Cathedral) in Wells,

the 17th-19th centuries (Bath Abbey) back in Bath,

and finally to the 1960's at Longleat, with trippy murals by Lord Bath (not pictured, but see here for examples), a hall of mirrors, and the first drive-thru Safari park outside of Africa (opened in 1966).

   

 











When it was finally time to go home, it was an even longer drive, as we did it all in one day instead of splitting it up.  What I appreciated about the British motorway system on the way home, however, was its optimism.  Every time they posted a sign, they only told you about the nearby towns. "Preston 25 miles" it would say, cheerily. Anything further away than about 30 miles just fell into a large category, with a helpful arrow: "The Midlands" "the North."  This would never fly in the United States - what do you mean, The North? I want to know how far it is to Minnesota - never mind that I'm in Mississippi! When we finally started seeing the arrow marked "Scotland" we knew we were nearly home, back to our life in Dundee.

One Year in Scotland: 3 Reasons to Think Again

1. Being Far Away Sucks.

Far, far away Soria Moria Palace shimmered like gold: painted by Theodor Kittelsen, 1900.

This is the number-one reason we are thinking again about staying in Scotland. It is far away from family, from friends, and from events (like, for example, birthdays, anniversaries, my 20th high school reunion, American Anthropological Association conferences where friends gather, and of course the Orioles finally going for World Series).  We're also too far away to help - for example, as family members recover from surgery.  People ask me if we traveled back to the United States over the summer holidays.  The answer is no, of course. Trips for all four of us are too costly to even consider.  We have TIME, but not money.  One day, maybe we'll have both.  Which brings me to the number-two reason we are thinking again...

2. It Costs a Lot to be a Foreigner.

Scottish Pounds. Yes, Scotland has its own money, they are equivalent to English pounds, but with more character.

This is actually in two parts, the first being the actual costs of coming to and staying in the UK.  Although the University hired me, and paid for some relocation costs, they did not pay for even my visa costs.  And it was not just me who needed a visa.  In order to come work here for 2 years, we (okay, full disclosure, my dad) paid $800 for each of us - including the two year old! - to come here. While I'm here, I also don't have a pension plan that transfers back to the US ( I opted out, after reading the fine print that said, in essence "we'll try to get your money into an account you can use in the U.S."), and there are also certain benefits that people in the UK get that we do not qualify for as US citizens - for example, Child Benefit.  If you have 2 children in the UK, you qualify for approximately $55 per week to help with their care.  It may not sound like a lot but over a year it amounts to almost $3,000. The second reason it costs a lot to be a foreigner is the desire to do stuff.  It's the "Hey, we're in Europe, when will we get here again, let's take advantage of it!" Except it really is not that cheap to go to Europe for 4 people - even cheap flights add up.  Even just traveling around Scotland is not so cheap if you want to stay anywhere for any length of time during the times you can actually go (i.e., when kids off school).  When thinking about "living overseas" in the abstract, there's sort of a  myth of an eternal vacation - but I'm at work, the kids are in school, and we're trying to travel at peak times just like everyone else in the UK. And of course, there's also...

3. The Weather.

View from the 7th floor of the building where I work, toward St. Peter's Free Church, the River Tay and the Tay Rail Bridge.

Dundee advertises itself the sunniest city in Scotland.  And, it probably is, given what I've heard about Glasgow.  Even today, perhaps in an effort to make me change my mind about Point 3, it was sunny and clear.  But the truth is that it's far more likely to look like there pictures than to be beautiful and sunny.  This past Monday it was rainy and so windy that the rain was like little daggers trying to stab Audrey and I as we walked up to her school.  Umbrellas were useless (as they often are) and the wind was trying to whip our raincoats away from us.  When Scotland is clear, it's gorgeous, and I love taking the atmospheric cloud picture (see below).  But when it's rainy, it's just Scottish weather.

Tay Rail Bridge with atmospheric clouds

If you enjoyed this post, why not visit Part 1 of my One Year in Scotland series: One Year in Scotland: Five Reasons We Love It.

One Year in Scotland: Five Reasons We Love It

1. They take care of you

Scottish ambulance

 By this I mean that here in Scotland, there are many things that we would be worried about in the States that we don't have to worry about here.  Chief among these is health care; while in the US it's a complicated mess of employer sponsored care, here it's simple.  You show up at the local health centre, register, and you're on the rolls. Your children are automatically sent reminders for well-child checks and vaccinations. If you have a problem, call, or walk up the hill and make an appointment.  Another non-worry: preschool.  In the US if you're middle income & up, you pay for private preschool.  Here, you're guaranteed 15 hours per week of preschool (nursery) once your child turns 3.  No charge. A big one (though we won't be here long enough to take advantage of this) University is still tuition-free in Scotland.  So if you're Scottish and you apply for a place in a Scottish University and are accepted, you pay zero tuition.  

2. There is work/life balance

 The biggest difference in Scotland (and the UK) is the amount of time people have off.  People, no matter what their job, have weeks of leave, not just days.  It's usual to get emails back when you send something out that say, "I am away on annual leave until [2 weeks from now]. I will reply to you on my return [OR, contact this person, email provided]." People don't seem to think they're indispensable in the same way they do in the States.  Maternity leave is a lot longer too - at least 6 months, often a year, and advertisements are put out for maternity leave cover with regularity. It takes some getting used to. When we arrived last September, I started my job and realized I had nine or ten days of leave that I needed to take before the end of the calendar year. It makes taking time off, especially when kids are out of school, seem like a much more normal part of life rather than juggling childcare when kids are out of school. 

3. Food is fresh and local, by default

 We happen to live in the "soft fruit" belt of Scotland.  So that means fresh, local strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and even tayberries (a mix of blackberry and raspberry, so named because they grow near the River Tay.)  Even in the local Tesco, they feature local produce when possible.  Meat is the same - we have a local butcher who sells local meat and eggs - when Paul asked him where the lamb came from, the butcher gestured across the River Tay and said "Right over there." 

 

 

4. There is a culture of walking and taking public transport

 We have lived here just over one year, and I do not drive.  We live walking distance from my work and Audrey (and now Claire's) school. We walk to all our regular activities (singing, yoga, Rainbows for Audrey (a bit like Brownies)) with the exception of swimming lessons. If it's too far to walk to get to the city centre, or the other side of town, buses run regularly, except on Sundays.  Trains also run regularly, and it's easy (and often cheap) to get a train to Glasgow, Edinburgh, or into England. People walk a lot.  And the buses are well-used by everyone.  In our early days in Dundee, a man struck up a conversation with me on the bus to tell me that when he went to America, he was never more scared than when he rode the bus in Orlando, Florida.  It was definitely not the friendly atmosphere of a Scottish bus for him.   

5. There is obvious national pride

 For a place with the approximate land area of the state of Maine (see this Telegraph article for 50 facts about Scotland) there is a lot of national pride.  Many visible symbols reflect this: the national dress (no pun intended) of the kilt, the strong interest in highland dancing (accomplished in tartan and featuring at just about every gathering of Scots), highland games, and of course bagpipes and bagpipers.  Then there are the national drinks of Scotch whisky in its innumerable varieties, and Irn Bru, a Scottish orange drink in one variety, and the national dish of Haggis.  Accompanied, of course, by the Scottish poet Robert Burns (or as they say here, Rabbie Burns, see my earlier post on Burns Night, which features both haggis and poetry (and of course, highland dancing, see above)). There are Scottish sweets like Tunnocks caramel wafers and tea cakes (see my earlier blog on sweeties and biscuits here), not to mention Scottish jams, Scottish tablet (imagine fudge and sugar mated), and Scottish shortbread.  When I attended a one-day conference at the University recently, the attendees were welcomed into the building by a bagpiper playing out front, and the conference bags contained a mini Walker's Shortbread and a copy of The Beano (a local Dundee comic book, still in print).  Now there's pride for you - for Scotland and for Dundee.      

Bonus: 

Watch Scottish comedian Michael MacIntyre talk about the birth of the kilt here on Youtube

If you enjoyed this post, why not visit Part 2 of my One Year in Scotland series:   One Year in Scotland: 3 Reasons to Think Again.

Life Beyond Scotland

I read a blog post today by Cathy Day, on the site The Millions.  Normally when I read blogs, I enjoy them; maybe they make me think a bit differently, maybe I send a note to the author (since I am most often reading the blogs of people I know), maybe I share them on Twitter.  But today, reading this post, entitled The Magic Building Where English Majors Work, I felt like Ms. Day had installed a secret camera trained on me for the past 15 years, and was documenting my life story in one blog post. Wow. And kind of creepy, all at once.

So, a blog about a blog about creative writing (or in my case, anthropology).  Yes, I was that idealistic student she references, who wanted to major in anthropology.  I think most of us have that idealistic side, except perhaps for people who go into college knowing they're going to be engineers. Although she ultimately supports the creativity and freedom of writing (anthropology), she does talk about the other side - a Practical Major which could Get You A Job.  I think I was the only anthropology major who took three Business courses in my last year of school (Accounting, awful. Economics, okay. Marketing...hey, isn't this pretty much anthropology?)  If my current self could give my 18-year-old self one piece of advice, it would be "Major in Computer Science. You can always write on the side."

Reading on in Ms. Day's blog, I identified with the "communications specialist" jobs that she encouraged her idealistic student to consider, even if it was with a "welding company."  The older I get, the better the welding company looks. Just after I graduated from college I chafed at a company where I had to write in a very prescribed manner (down to word choice - you couldn't say "usually," you had to say "typically"). But now, that requirement looks eminently doable and I can see interesting challenges everywhere, even writing about welding materials (this example is particularly resonant since I am now married to a welder, another change from my idealistic college days).

And of course I saw myself in the adjunct professor.  I have been there. The students do not know the difference.  They do not know that you get paid a flat per-course rate, which is at least bordering on (if not outright) abysmal. They still expect stellar teaching, lots of time put into comments, career advice and recommendations. Which you give, because you want them to succeed, even as you are applying far and wide to try to catch that elusive brass ring of a tenure-track job.    

So now here I am in Scotland. Working at my anthropology-related second post-doc, trying to balance everyday life (I go to work, kids go to school, go to kid (swimming, Rainbows) and adult (singing, yoga) activities, try to make friends, see people, do things, live life) with an adventurous life (which is probably what people in the States see more of, as I post the scenic parts of being here and traveling around, rather than the everyday life).  Thinking about Life Beyond Scotland, the adventure coming to an end, or at least moving somewhere Stateside. Maybe to a welding company. Watch this space.    

Dundee Flower and Food Festival 2014

This morning I started my day tromping through the grass and mud, trees and gravel parking lots of Camperdown Park in Dundee.  The group I sing with, Loadsaweeminsingin (previous blog about the group here) has a regular gig at the festival.  After the aforementioned tromping, I (and Paul, and the girls) finally found the parking lot we were meeting in, and moved on to warming up (both vocally and physically - although it wasn't raining this morning, Scotland in early September is not exactly warm).  When we got to the stage, my fan club were the only ones in the audience.  The audience did grow once we started singing, but this experience reinforced what I suspected - 10:30 on a Sunday morning is pretty early for Scots.

I'm about third from right - Paul's camera image

 After we finished singing at 11, we explored the flower and food festival.  Well, okay, first we let the kids ride the rides. 

On the ubiquitous merry go round ride - driving the bulldozer this time.

Finally getting big enough for the harnessed-trampoline-jumping ride!

Then we watched Indian dancing.  Then we ate lunch. THEN we explored the festival.  It reminded Paul and I of a cross between the St. Andrews Highland Games (blog here) and the Royal Highland Show (blog here).  It was a bit like the Highland Games in scale - a small fun fair, a good bit of Highland Dancing (and the accompanying bagpiping).  It was a bit like the Highland Show in its several tents packed with stalls and displays.  In this case, the stalls were selling fancy food, including jam, cheese, beef and lamb, hard cider, Scotch whisky, and various kinds of sweets (most with samples!) and the displays were of flowers, plants and vegetables.  It was definitely much smaller than the Highland Show, and there were also no animals, which of course are the main point of the Highland Show.  The Flower and Food festival didn't have a single sheep or cow (at least a live one, though they were well-represented in alternate forms in the Food section).

The vegetables were quite welcoming

Did I mention Claire likes carrots, and wanted to pose with them?

You know you wondered where the took place...Ireland would have been my guess. 

Given the popularity of jam in the food tent, I should have taken a picture of (not kidding) the booth for the World Jampionships, which are sponsored by a Scottish jam producer (MacKays, pronounced McKies) and won by a man from Dundee in 2014. 

We finally did find flowers as well!

Prizewinning dahlias

Other prizewinning flowers

Even Audrey got into the flower (or rather, tree) spirit, and fell in love with a Bonsai tree.  She wanted a big tree, but compromised on a little one - this is her with "Rosie" - she's chatted to her all afternoon, trying to get her to break out in the promised white flowers.  And no, Audrey isn't looking a little green - she chose the "witch" face-painting at the festival, while Claire went for a glitter tattoo of a princess crown. 

Audrey and Rosie the Bonsai.

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.