End of First Week of Classes!

Today marks the end of the first week of classes! It also marks the beginning of a three day weekend, so I'll get some quality time to explore New York! For our lab today, we ran some tests on the aspirin we made to find out how much of it was really aspirin. 

Today, our guest speaker Dr. Rachid Skouta told us about the practice of "Green Chemistry". Basically, it's a Chemistry where priorities are placed on wasting less toxic materials and on research of alternate energy. Nothing but good can come from a change where Chemistry is driven by these principles.

After Mrs. Ishmael gave us a very generous food fund, I visited my first New York museum: the Metropolitan Museum! It was nothing short of incredible. I broke apart from the group I was with to appreciate the museum at my own pace. Even after two and a half hours of wandering between stunningly beautiful paintings, sculptures and glass works, I managed to view less than half of the building!

Throughout my journey there were times when I wondered if I somehow stumbled into an H.P. Lovecraft story! You would turn a corner and find yourself in a dimly lit room, surrounded by heavy, shadowed stone walls covered with ancient Hieroglyphs and faded carvings depicting the customs of a long extinct civilization. If you are ever in New York, the Metropolitan Museum is a must!