Intro

So you might be wondering, who is this guy blogging here. Well don’t worry, this is me

Blessings Nyoni from Malawi, a fourth year mechanical engineering student at The University of Malawi, The Polytechnic. This has been the long awaited trip of my life since the day I realized I should see other parts of the world. So you might be thinking, wait a minute, isn’t this supposed to be about the Rice 360 internship and not travelling the world? Yes you are right, but hey am killing two birds with one stone here. I get to see America, experience their culture, make new friends, taste new food but most importantly and this is what am more excited about this summer, I get to learn the engineering design process and actually put the knowledge to use by designing and building a working prototype of a device. Not only am I excited about that but I will also learn how to work in a team comprising members from three different countries (what a great place to learn about culture!)

THE TRIP FROM HOUSTON TO MALAWI

The trip was great, we flew from Chileka airport in Blantyre, Malawi to Johannesburg and then through Heathrow, London to Houston, Texas.

The only hiccup during the way was the misunderstanding we had with security personnel in London which led to a somewhat in depth search of our possessions. The misunderstanding came about because when Christopher was selected for a random search, he mistakenly took Charity’s bad into the search room instead of his and they thought we might be hiding something by doing that. So we spent nearly 10-15 minutes being searched and talked. But in the end it was all resolved and our trip continued smoothly until we landed.

HOUSTON HERE I COME

Wow, so much for what I expected to see here in Houston. I thought it would be amazing but am disappointed it isn’t that good at all. Maybe I should just have stayed home and eat Nsima. Just kidding! The city is amazing, the people are awesome and the experiences are fulfilling and educational. It has only been nearly a week since I landed here in Houston but I feel at home already. The day we arrived (me and my friends from Malawi: charity, Christopher and Tiwonge), we were welcomed by Dr. Veronica Leautaud. She drove all the way to the airport to pick us up, showed us to our rooms and around campus. she even gave us hints on the general environment here in Houston in general. That might sound silly or small but believe me when you are in a country you’ve never been before, it’s actually a lot.

IN HOUSTON

So far I have managed to go Herman Park, maybe not go but pass through it. but it counts right! It is beautiful

I have gone to the Houston zoo(the first zoo i have ever gone to in my life!)  where we had a scavenger hunt the first working day of our internship (5^th, June 16, 2017). The scavenger hunt and many other activities we have been doing have been an important and helpful tool in helping us learn about each other and interact more. The first project we are all working on as interns during our intensive training on The Engineering Design Process was also from the zoo.

THE PEOPLE

As mentioned earlier, the people here have been exceptionally warm. We started as strangers and mare teammates but we are now growing to be friends and it is great. The mentors, instructors are doing a great job. They are open and actually care about our progress on the material they are delivering. Not only are they teaching and mentoring us about engineering design but also about communication in multicultural environments, etc.

one of the activities we did was decomposition which was like taking apart a machine to kinda see how it works and what parts it is made of. it was a great activity to do. I think i need to do it more. i might learn more than i think from decomposing machines.

FIRST PROJECT

The first project that we have been working on is to build an enrichment device for okapis at the Houston zoo. In case you don’t know what an okapi is here is this cute animal:

Enrichment devices are tools used mainly with animals in captivity to enhance their naturalistic behavior. This is necessary because animals in the world have to fetch for themselves, defend themselves, etc. but those in captivity have anything given to them. Therefore to give them the same experience or at least something close to it, enrichment devices are used to stimulate them into behaving like the wild counterparts.

The project has been educational and fun. I can’t wait to see it implemented. So far we have clarified team assignments, done design context review, created the design criteria, brainstormed possible solutions and today we will probably select what we will actually implement.

I am excited this summer and  i am looking forward to doing more and learning more!