does the word "refurbished" mean "crap"

[deeky]

I'd suggest not to go with a SLR. You have to handle the film and get it developed and then scan it - aand then you get your pictures. For learning, I'd go with a Olympus Pen-series or a Lumix G-series. And that's what I did, and I love it. But IMO SLRs are hard to learn on.

I would actually disagree. I started with a Pentax K1000. The only difficulty is in the delay of feedback because you need to have it developed and printed to see what you did. Beyond that, I think I actually learned more shooting with that camera. First, everything was manual, so I had to understand all of the factors (ISO, shutter speed, apurture, etc.). I also found I was much better at taking my time and working on the shot rather than just click, click, click. To be really proactive, take notes on the settings when you shoot and refer back to them when you get the prints.

Digital certainly is great, but if you can't afford it, don't let an SLR keep you from taking up photography. Get something where you have control over apurture, shutter speed, etc., and start learning.