It’s amazing how quickly one can learn with just a little experience. Four weeks ago I knew very little about electrical systems and wiring. Sure, I had taken classes dealings with circuits and the like, but I still would have preferred to attribute a working outlet to “magic”. Admittedly, as a mechanical engineer I should know more about basic applicable circuiting considering most mechanical systems are run electrically (or create the electricity in the case of the turbines).

Upon arriving to the CLI site, I quickly became a pseudo-apprentice to Chris Connelly, an electrician from America with his own company. He was in Malawi as a CLI volunteer until two weeks into my trip. Though I learned a lot simply by working problems out on my own, Chris provided answers and advice to my frequent questions.

The amount I have learned through experience is far greater than what I could have absorbed from a textbook and class lectures. To me it is akin to learning a new language: it is much more productive to spend time in a country where the language is spoken than to learn from language classes. Additionally, classes (at university, not vocational) usually only teach concepts and not how to build or implement.

Since Chris’ departure midway through my time here, I have become the resident electrician. I have fished wiring through about 100 feet of conduit which had over 360 degrees of turns (a no-no, but there was a valid reason for it. As a funny aside, after one fishing tape line became stuck in the conduit we got a second tape line stuck while trying to retrieve the first.). I have installed a heat sink, some breakers, a couple of photocell lights, landscape lighting, and the conduit and gang boxes for all of the above. I have also fixed a couple of disconnects (which had been hotwired instead of using fuses) and done various other odd jobs.

For what will probably be my final electrical project, I ran wiring to two separate rooms and installed two lights and a switch in each room. Yes, it is a very basic installation that any novice electrician would easily handle, but considering the work was all on my own I am proud of how far I have advanced the past few weeks.