Day 8: Thursday

Entry 1
Today we're going to our lectures at the university. Our first one is on Green Chemistry with Dr. Yonas Chebude, specifically looking at indigenous plants, vernonia oil, zeolites, and ionic liquids. My favorite part of the lecture was definitely the zeolite with hydroxyapatite on it for fluoride water filtration.

Entry 2
While we're waiting to go to our second lecture, we're looking around in the Natural Science Museum that's attached to the university. There was a mirror at the end of the exhibit that I really liked because it was incredibly accurate. I've included a picture. We also saw the National Herbarium, but we weren't able to go inside (massive bummer).

Entry 3
The second lecture is with Dr. Feleke Zewge from the Africa Center of Excellence for Water Management. We talked about water management strategy and the pollution problems that Addis faces, specifically fluorine and arsenic pollution.

Entry 4
We're visiting Unity Park now, and I'm excited to see lions but apprehensive about leaving my camera with security. Because they're not allowed. We can take pictures with our phones, though. The gardens here are so lovely, and the palaces are stunning. The prison beneath one of the palace structures was a very sobering experience as well. We're also getting gelato!

Entry 5
We're going to another culture house tonight for dinner and I'm very excited! This should be fun!