Thursday I went to the dentist. I'd been putting it off, since no one really likes going to the dentist, and also, I am very very poor right now. Good thing for dental insurance.

Sadly for me, the dentist is recommending $3500 worth of dental work, which is about $3000 more than my insurance covers (after accounting for what it paid for the cleaning and x-rays on Thursday). So, I can sit in a chair with far too many instruments in my mouth for hours on end, or I can go to Cuba for my sister's wedding.

Yeah, Cuba it is.

Luckily for me, the dentist realizes that people on the grad student health plan are pretty broke most of the time and he prioritized the work for me. So I have to get three fillings over the next three or four weeks, at the downright affordable cost of $190, after insurance has paid for its bit.

My friend Tayfun says if I'm ever going to get those crowns done (at about $1000 bucks a piece; I need two) I should just get a three week vacation to Turkey, where I can pay about the same for a trip and two crowns in Turkey as I would for two crowns here.

I don't know what scares me more: what Turkish dentistry could be like, or that I'd actually consider doing it.