Tea with Austen

Follow-up to my previous blog :)
This weekend I did visit my local Jane Austen Society meeting. I brought a friend along to the event, which was really a tea party/book discussion on the patio of a small-town tea shop.
Things I learned from the experience:
1) Members of the Jane Austen Society refer to themselves as "Janeites,"
2) Membership fees are pretty reasonable (yes, I'm definitely considering it),
3) I like scones way more than I thought (I ate three),
4) Although I was concerned about the age demographic, the college-age demographic was well represented amongst the members at the meeting,
5) Although this particular meeting was all-female, I have been informed that it was a first for the group and that there is usually at least one male member/participant, and
6) All of the Janeites present were intelligent women interested in analyzing Jane Austen's books (in this particular case Northanger Abbey) characters, and Jane herself. None of that bodice-ripping fantasy nonsense ;) I was a little relieved.
In any case, I intend to go to their next meeting (in a month) and I'll probably join. As my friend and I were leaving the meeting, I told her that I suddenly felt in harmony with my Austen nerd side. I won't lie, it's a good feeling.