This week is our last full week in Malawi. Time really went by too quickly! I really tried to make the most out of this last week with my teammates and with our project. Taonga, Demobrey and I worked really hard to finish our final prototype this week. It’s been a very fulfilling journey! We learned a lot about electronics, suction machines and about ourselves. The obstacles we faced made our friendship stronger. I’m really proud of us! I love spending time with Taonga and Demobrey because I learn something new from them everyday. They’ve made my time in Malawi amazing!
Day 40
Monday July 16, 2018
Transistors
Goals Accomplished
- Created working shutoff circuit without electrolysis
Today wifi was installed in the design studio! We now have 100 MB of data per day provided by Skyband when we sign in using our Facebook accounts. Using the wifi we did some research on water sensors. We found a resistance “sensor” circuit that used MOSFET transistors and we implemented this circuit into our existing relay circuit. We created a proof of concept and it worked!!! This circuit will eliminate the corrosion and the salt problem. Now we need to add a buzzer and fix up the soldering. We tried several ways of adding the buzzer and they all failed. We believe that we need to add another transistor in order for our circuit to work however we have to wait until tomorrow so that we can check the datasheets for the transistor online.
We didn’t do much after work because the weather was really cold and rainy. Everyone went straight home and bundled up. For some reason cold winter days in Malawi seem to last forever. Hopefully the weather will get better soon!
Day 41
Tuesday July 17, 2018
Polywood
Goals Accomplished
- Got footage for a Rice-Poly internship video
Today we were trying to figure out how to add a second MOSFET transistor into the circuit so that we could include the buzzer. However, there was no internet so we couldn’t really figure it out without the datasheets. We then switched to working on a video of the internship. I took videos of Taonga, Nafe, and Demobrey walking on the street leading up to the Poly, walking into the Poly and then walking into the design studio. The interns looked like celebrities! They are really photogenic!! I also took some shots of the campus and the different departments. I’m really excited to make this video!!! I will post it to YouTube when its finished!!!
Day 42
Wednesday July 18, 2018
Try Again
Goals Accomplished
- Understood how to use transistors
Again we were trying to add the buzzer all morning but to no success. Again we used up all of our data and worked on our video until tomorrow. We are definitely close since we figured out 1) which transistor is best to use since we have been trying different ones and 2) how to connect two transistors in series.
Since I’m not going to see my team for a while after I leave, we are going out to eat lunch at the mall. Today we went to Kipps, a very popular local fast food restaurant. Fast food restaurants are very fancy in Malawi. The food is also pretty good. It’s much better than fast food in the U.S. in my opinion.
Today was another really rainy and cold day. We all wore several layers to work and still felt cold! After work we went to dinner at a Chinese restraint called China Da. It was very authentic according to Angela. There’s actually a good amount of expats (foreigners) living in Malawi. Blantyre has a lot of Indian restaurants and a couple of Chinese restaurants. I have yet to see a Mexican restaurant, but apparently there is a Hispanic restaurant called Casa Latina.
Day 43
Thursday July 19, 2018
Success 2
Goals Accomplished
- Created working buzzer and power interrupting circuit!
This morning before work Akshaya and I headed to the Rice 360 office to use the wifi. It really helped us to get on with our projects. After about an hour and a half I headed back to the Poly alone since Akshaya needed more time. When I got back we finally built a working circuit!! The buzzer and the relay work together now using three contact points just like we wanted.
For lunch we went to Kipps again to celebrate.. We sat outside because it was full inside, and it was really cold (remember its winter in Malawi right now). It has been really chilly in the design studio this entire week since the weather has gotten really bad. It has been raining on and off since Monday and its about 40-50 F everyday. Everyone has told us that this is the coldest week of the winter.
After lunch, our team was busy for the rest of the day. Demobrey and Taonga worked on our higher fidelity prototype. They made our circuit cleaner and a little more compact. In the meantime, I was making a bigger casing for our circuit on SolidWorks.
After work we (Rice interns) went to 21 grill. I got a sirloin steak that was really good. Sajel, Franklin and I shared a pretty good sorbet (guava and raspberry flavored).
Day 44
Friday July 20, 2018
PAM 2
Goals Accomplished
- Received useful feedback on our final prototype at PAM
Today we took our device to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s PAM (Physical Assets Management) to 1) get feedback on our final prototype and 2) to get pictures and video footage for our final video and billboard.
We got a lot of helpful advice from the PAM managers and a lot of great pictures!
Day 45-46
Saturday-Sunday July 21-22, 2018
Last Weekend
Our last weekend in Malawi was well spent. On Saturday we all went to the Blantrye market for the last time and had lunch at KFC for the last time. It was a lot of fun to have the interns with us. After lunch I walked around Blantyre till sunset with my teammates Taonga and Demobrey. We ate at crossroads mall for the last time. On Sunday I went to church with Demobrey at Chilobwe Catholic church. There were a few differences in the service compared to the one I go to at home but overall it was very similar. After church I spent the day with Demobrey and his neighbor Limbani in his hostel in Chilobwe. Again everyone was very kind, funny and welcoming. I’m going to miss Malawian people.
