Welcome to my final blog post about my summer international internship! Now that I’m back in my hometown of Los Angeles, California, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on my summer experience in Nairobi, Kenya. My previous blog posts were rather long and time consuming to read, so I thought I would give you all a more abbreviated reflection this time. I will discuss the final 2 weeks of my Drop Access internship and my final 2 weekend excursions.
The last 2 weeks of my internship were very busy. Over the course of 14 days, I made 18 engineering documents for my VacciBox refrigerator design internship project, crafted and delivered a 20 minute presentation about what I learned during my internship, completed a full day of fire safety training, had my conclusion meetings with the company CEO and my technical mentor, attended a company dinner and game night at the Greenspot Gardens restaurant, and said a final farewell to the Drop Access warehouse in the Viken Thirty Industrial Park. The engineering documents I made for my internship project included 4 SolidWorks part files for the 4 walls VacciBox walls, 1 SolidWorks assembly file for the assembled VacciBox, screenshots of all the SolidWorks parts, 4 DXF files that will be used to cut the VacciBox walls out of sheet metal, 4 engineering bend line diagrams for the 4 VacciBox walls, and 4 PDFs of the engineering bend line diagrams. The most difficult files to create were the SolidWorks part file for the back cover of the VacciBox because it had a gasket indent, over 40 ventilation holes, and several holes for electrical ports that were meticulous to create in CAD. I had never made engineering bend line diagrams before, so it took some time and patience to figure out how to format those documents correctly. It was fun to deliver my end of internship presentation to my coworkers. They appreciated my explanation of my Rice Master of Bioengineering program, my weekend adventures in Kenya, the challenges I faced and skills I gained from designing a gasket indent for the VacciBox vaccine refrigerator, and my attempt to present a few slides in Swahili. I delivered the majority of my slides in English, but I used Google Translate and some help from my Drop Access technical supervisor, Sam, to say 6 introduction and conclusion phrases in Swahili. The fire safety training was very engaging because it involved learning about how to organize a warehouse to accommodate for office safety and hygiene, learning to use fire extinguishers to extinguish small trash fires, how to carry injured colleagues in case of an emergency, how to help someone who is choking or experiencing cardiac arrest, and how to exit a vehicle safely if we are ever in an Nairobi traffic accident. The Drop Access company dinner at Greenspot Gardens included delicious chapapti, chicken stew, vegetable rice, and blueberry birthday cake, a very competitive words guessing game, and an opportunity to learn more about the hobbies, families, and hometowns of my coworkers. I was sad to leave my Drop Access coworkers behind as my uber pulled away from the warehouse for the final time. I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet those hard working and creative Drop Access employees, though I have the feeling our paths will cross again when I return to Africa someday.
My final 2 weekends in Kenya were delightful. I finally got the chance to dig my toes in the sand and soak up the warm Kenya sunshine when I visited Diani Beach with my friend Jemimah. We stayed at the Pinewood Beach Resort and Spa for 3 days and 2 nights. Our trip included a round trip Kenya Airways flight from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi to Moi International Airport in Mombasa, a 1 hour Uber ride from Mombasa to Diani, swimming in the warm, turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean, floating in the hotel pool, savoring the scrumptious food at the hotel breakfast buffet, eating out at the delightful Pallet Café and Salty Squid restaurants, snorkeling through the colorful reefs near Robinson Island, and posing for a beach sunrise photo shoot. The best weekend vacations never last long enough, but I’m glad I took the time and effort to plan a nice trip for Jemimah and I. During my final weekend in Kenya, I got a manicure for the first time at a cute nail salon called Polished by Dunne, enjoyed a roommate dinner at Akira and large cones of ice cream at Rafaelo in Westgate Mall with Katherine, Emma, and Colin, and shopped till I dropped at Two Rivers Mall. I got some boba, souvenirs for friends and family, a skirt, a t-shirt, and a summer dress during my shopping spree. The store LC Waikiki was reasonably priced and had some very fashionable outfits. After the last day of my internship, I took myself out to dinner at my favorite Nairobi restaurant, About Thyme. The saxophone player wasn’t at the restaurant this time, but I enjoyed listening the soothing drizzle of rain while feasting on my roasted duck donburi bowl and peanut butter ice cream pie.
The 2 flight from Nairobi, to London, to Los Angeles took 20 hours in total, so I was very exhausted once I arrived at my parent’s house in the Los Angeles suburbs. I had a few days to rest, but I am still busy packing for my next move to Rice University in Houston, Texas, and completing the online training for the graduate orientation. I would recommend that future Rice GMI students do the summer international internship program. It is an incredible opportunity experience living in a different country and adjusting to different cultures. Thank you for coming along with me for the ride and have a great day!