Vision Restored!

To my great relief (and comfort), I can see properly again. My eye doctor saw me two days early, on Monday, and gave me a new vision prescription. 

Now studying is a million times easier, not to mention actually pleasant, and I have gotten way more done: vocabulary flashcards, grammar, television watching (Univision and the Spanish-language version of NY1), and newspaper-reading (El Diario). With the Mexican president here, there is a lot of interesting news.

While buying coffee today, I met a woman who speaks Sinhalese, Danish, Hebrew, and English. That is a rather remarkable combination. She was born in Sri Lanka, married a Danish man, and has lived in both Israel and the United States.

On another subject, lately I have been paying more attention to sculptures I encounter around the city, quite a few of which happen to be the work of Hispanic artists.

Yesterday when I was in the Columbus Circle area, I passed through the Time Warner Center, where I often come across this large statue by the Colombian artist Fernando Botero. It has a similarly large female companion nearby.

The thing about the male figure is that people are constantly grabbing its penis. Tourists take pictures of their travel companions holding it and grinning. I once even saw someone simulating fellatio for a photograph.

The result of all this action is that the penis is a much lighter color than the rest of the statue, so even when it is not being grabbed, it appears to be glowing. Which draws even more attention to it and increases the likelihood of additional sexual advances.