Jambo and welcome back to my blog! I’ve been busy with my internship project lately, so I’ll make this post short and sweet. During my 7th week at Drop Access, I spent the majority of my time improving my VacciBox SolidWorks design, attended a Production Team ERP Tool Training for an online refrigerator monitoring platform, and began planning for my end-of-internship presentation. I am redesigning the 4 walls of the VacciBox refrigerator in order to improve the product’s performance. I am working to remodel the top edge of each refrigerator wall so there will be a tight seal between the lid and the refrigerator body. Each wall is made from a single sheet of steel that will be cut and bent into shape. Any gaps in the walls will be welded shut. Therefore, I need to adjust the geometry of each wall to make sure the gaps in each wall are as narrow as possible. Large gaps will allow warm air to enter the fridge and will require an excess of welding material to properly seal, preventing the fridge from maintaining the proper internal temperature. Once I finish the SolidWorks CAD, I will then make engineering drawings, DXF files, and nested DXF files. Engineering drawings clearly define the dimensions of each refrigerator wall, DXF files are necessary for determining the 2D metal outline for each part, and nested DXF files help to determine the optimal way to arrange the 2D metal outlines on a larger steel sheet so that material is not wasted. In 2 weeks, I will need to present my internship project to my Drop Access coworkers. Working with my technical mentor and the Drop Access CEO to determine what information needs to be included in my presentation. I will likely explain the objectives of my project, what I learned this summer, what challenges I faced, what skills I gained, and what places in Kenya I visited over the past 2 months. In order to improve my Swahili language skills, I plan to present at least 1 slide in Swahili. The other slides will be presented in English. These final 3 weeks will be busy, but I’m motivated to stay on schedule so I can turn my engineering drawings into a physical prototype.

Progress on SolidWorks CAD for the VacciBox front wall

Closer view of changes made to the top corner of VacciBox wall

Last week, I had some health problems and became a patient at The Nairobi Hospital. The Nairobi Hospital is a private hospital located in Upper Hill area, Nairobi, Kenya. The hospital was founded in 1954 as a hospital for Europeans. I visited the emergency room at that hospital last Tuesday because I was experiencing a fever, chills, night sweats, muscle aches, and several itchy bug bites. My coworkers and I feared the worst: I had been bitten by mosquitoes and infected with malaria! The Nairobi Hospital has blood and urine testing that is used to screen patients for malaria and other illnesses. Over the course of 5 hours, I was sent to 2 different waiting rooms, 1 lab testing office, a physical exam room, 2 different pharmacies, and took a snack break at a coffee shop. By 11pm that night, I was exhausted but able to return to my apartment with the following knowledge: I did not have malaria, I did have a bacterial infection, and I needed to take antibiotics for 7 days. Last Wednesday, I started taking the Ciprobay antibiotics. I soon began to experience dizziness, nausea, complete loss of appetite, lack of thirst, and vertigo. Why was the medication making me feel worse, not better? That night, my roommate Katherine and I jumped in an Uber and returned to the emergency room in search of answers. That’s when the doctor informed me Ciprobay is a strong antibiotic that can cause unpleasant side effects. It was my first time taking Ciprobay and I did not want to have that amount of dizziness and nausea for a full 7 days. Given my body’s reaction to the medication, I was told to stop taking Ciprobay and start taking another antibiotic, Zinnat, that had fewer side effects. The new medications caused some indigestion, nausea, and excessive bowel movements, but in general, I started feeling healthier as my fever reduced and the world stopped spinning.

Too many bacterial infection medications

Last weekend, I did not attend the Diani Beach trip with my roommates, Emma, Katherine, and Colin, due to my health problems. I’m glad I stayed in Nairobi and took the time I needed to rest, relax, and regain my strength. Unfortunately, the travel package we booked through TK Adventures was nonrefundable. The package cost KES 16,100 ($125) per person and included 2 economy train tickets, 2 taxi rides, 2 nights at an apartment containing 3 beds, and a personal chef that cooks 3 meals per day. That was the most affordable, all-inclusive Diani Beach travel package we could find for a 3-day weekend in July. However, there are several downsides to that travel package: The package is nonrefundable, the apartment may not be available on your preferred weekend, you have to pay for the package with shillings on an app called M-PESA, you need a Kenyan SIM card in order to set up M-PESA, they do not accept any alternative forms of payment or alternative currencies, the train ride is roughly 5 hours each way, economy train seats are packed closely together and do not recline, the apartment does not have the same amenities as a luxury hotel, you have no control over what the chef cooks for each meal, the pool next to the apartment had bugs in it, and the beach closest to the apartment does not include lounge chairs or a place to store your belongings. In summary, my roommates enjoyed the activities at Diania Beach, but the train ride was long and uncomfortable, and I wasted $125 because I was too sick to travel. Given this information, I will not purchase the TK Adventures Diani Beach travel package ever again and I encourage other Rice University students to find a better travel package with a different travel company.

During my 3-day staycation in Nairobi, I watched a lot of Netflix, ate dinner at the Mister Wok restaurant in Two Rivers Mall, and watched the F1 movie at the Westgate Cinema. The Chinese food at Mister Wok was tasty, but the Asian fusion food I ate at a restaurant called Akira during a previous weekend was more delicious. While Mister Wok’s Chow Mein noodles were disappointing, their chicken wonton soup was warm and easy for my stomach to digest in spite of all the antibiotics I was taking. After eating dinner, I window shopped throughout the mall, took pictures of some glittering butterfly decorations, and indulged in a cone of strawberry ice cream. It felt nice to slow down and enjoy the small pleasures of life. So far this summer, I have visited the Sarit Centre Mall, Westgate Mall, Village Market Mall, the Waterfront Karen Mall, and the Two Rivers Mall. Each mall has great stores and attractions, but the Funscapes Two Rivers Theme Park, Maji Magic waterpark at Waterfront Karen, and Westgate Cinema movie theater have been some of my favorite attractions so far. Last Sunday, I had a great time watching F1 The Movie at Westgate Cinema. Watching those meticulously engineered racing machines zoom across the screen, getting invested in Brad Pitt’s struggle to become the fastest F1 driver, and listening to the exhilarating movie sound track composed by Hans Zimmer was the perfect ending to the weekend. As I left the movie theater and munched on finger lickin good Kentucky Fried Chicken, I decided that my beach free weekend turned out pretty good after all. By Monday morning, I finished all my antibiotics, my appetite had returned, and I no longer had a fever. Week 7 in Kenya was physically exhausting and a lot of things went wrong, but I overcame those challenges and I’m ready to take on these final 3.5 weeks in Kenya. As I get closer to the end of my internship, I’m becoming more homesick, but I’m also eager to make these last few weeks as memorable as possible. Diani Beach is still on my bucket list, but I know I’ll make it to the beach someday, whether it’s on the coast of Kenya or the shores of Southern California.  Until next time, thanks for reading about my Kenyan trials and tribulations.  Swahili: Asante na kwaheri marafiki zangu! English translation: Thank you and goodbye my friends!

Dinner at Mister Wok Two Rivers

Wonderstruck by the butterfly display

Multitude of stores at Westgate Mall

Selfie with Brad Pitt from F1 The Movie