Not much has been happening since my last post. This is our last week of having our one night class, and we start real classes at the University on Monday! Although I'm excited to finally have a schedule, I'm sure I'll miss these last three weeks when I've slept until 11 every day. Each student in our language class has had to give a presentation on the topic of the day, and today is finally mine. I guess they saved the best for last? My presentation is about the European Union, and I would go into more detail, but it truly isn't interesting.

I've really enjoyed this three week class. The culture part was more of a Spanish history class, and our teacher, Fernando, did a great job of making it interesting. I've never been much of a history person, but the history of Spain is sort of crazy. Less than 40 years ago Spain was a dictatorship with really harsh laws; particularly regarding women. In the 70's women could not withdraw money from their bank account without a signed form from their husband or their father (if they didn't have a husband). To me that is just crazy! It explains a lot about their culture though. The majority of the students in our group have older senoras, who are in their 70s or 80s, and they have very ingrained opinions that women should solely work in the house doing chores and taking care of their husband and children. It is evident that it is a dying mindset, because many girls my age go to college and get jobs afterwards, but it is odd to think that there are still people with the mindset that women are less capable than men.

At the same time, Spanish history seems so contradictory. Less than 40 years ago children had separate schooling where the girls learned to cook and sew and the boys learned math and science, but today Spain has some of the most liberal laws of any country. Abortion, gay marriage, and divorce are all legalized; which is especially surprising when you take into account that 80% of the country is Catholic. What is even more surprising is that sex changes and abortions (in some cases) are even paid for by the government! Health care is free, even for visitors like us, and the University is exponentially cheaper than even public schools in America. I just find it so interesting that a country with such a strong religious base has some very liberal policies. I guess they have really embodied the separation of church and state.

Last night we got a chance to talk to our host mom about why she takes in international students, and we found out a lot about her. We were under the impression that she had always been a stay at home mom, but apparently she used to own a clothing store! She said that when she had Carmen (who is four) she closed the store and became a stay at home mom because their in home nanny left and they couldn't find a new one. Unlike many of the older senoras, Pilar (our mom) doesn't take in international students for money. She said that she does it because she sees it as her job and it gives her a purpose. She also said that she enjoys the company. We by far have the youngest senora, and a lot of our classmates are really interested in the stories we always have about the kids in our house and the parent's friends that come over.

The students with the older senoras do have their share of funny stories though. For example, yesterday in class my friend Jess told us that she recently discovered that her senora has been doing their laundry in the bidet. (If you haven't seen a bidet before, it is a type of sink intended for washing the underside of the body...to put it nicely). I don't think I have ever laughed so hard in my life. We told Pilar that story and she was flabbergasted. I have personally seen our washing machine so I am 100% sure that our clothes are bidet-free.

We were thinking about going to Ronda, the nearby city with the cliffs, on Saturday, but the high is supposed to be in the 40s, so we nixed that plan. Instead we are going to explore Sevilla a little more and cross some things off of our bucket list. We might even ask our senora for a bag lunch and have a little picnic!