Now that I have been home for a week, I’m not sure how to feel. Everything is familiar yet different at the same time. I somehow managed to go from living with 10 other people to 11 considering I had extended family in town. However, it was quite easy to keep busy with unpacking and spending time with friends and family. Every once in a while when things slowed down, the little things would remind me of my time in Malawi and the people that became another family. Like making tea and piling on the bus to head to the Poly design studio in the morning or joking around while cooking dinner. It feels like only yesterday we were at the studio working on our prototypes.

On our last day in Malawi, saying goodbye was the hardest part. In the midst to completing our presentations and celebrating our hard work, we realized that it was time to say goodbye to everything we had known for the past few months, goodbye to the Poly design studio, goodbye to market in central Blantyre, and goodbye to our friends. Without them, I don’t think I would have enjoyed my time in Malawi. Sometime in the distant future when I will look back on this time, it won’t be the little things I remember, but the friends we made and relationships we built.

Overall, this experience has been one that I will cherish forever. It taught me so much about engineering, people, new cultures, and healthcare in different countries. I hope the knowledge I have gained does not end here and I can continue similar work in the future. I am proud of my teammates and our engineering accomplishments and I wish them all the best in their future endeavors. I know they are going to do great things and impact people’s lives for the better.

I also want to say a special thank you to donors who supported Rice 360 and made this internship possible without your help I would not have another place to call home.