Starting Bells

Day 0 is finally here. I’m certainly feeling the mixture of nervousness, excitement, and sleepiness that comes with a 6am flight and this summer’s adventures. Right now, I am in the Toronto airport, waiting to board the flight to Ethiopia and then finally on to Tanzania.

Tim Horton outfitted the Toronto airport with iPads and free Wifi. Way to go Canada.

I thought I would share a little bit about why I am joining EWH/DukeEngage this summer in Tanzania.  The EWH Summer Institute offers a mix of technical challenges, learning a new culture, service to others, and self-exploration.  As someone interested in academic medicine, engineering, and learning about people, this summer should provide opportunities to grow in each of these ways. Through experiences with troubleshooting and medical equipment repairs, I hope this summer will advance my engineering education in a practical skills sense. Engineers (myself included) often bring up the applicability of their chosen field and the practical and critical thinking skills to be gained from a study of engineering.  I hope this summer will be able to strengthen that conviction.  Another motivation for being part of this program was that I have never lived more than a 25 minute drive from home in Raleigh and hope the experience of living in an entirely different culture will challenge me.

While packing this week, I was looking through a lot of toys and clothes from my childhood. There is an orphanage very close to Nkoaranga hospital where I will be during my second month in Tanzania, and I was hoping to find donation items to bring along.  I came across a “build-it-yourself” electronic bell, in which wires and bell components are all assembled to teach the user about electricity concepts.  Despite the bell being an “8-and-up” toy, I was quite entertained by it and made sure the entire kit was there so I could bring it on the trip.  I hope that I am able to donate the bell to someone and perhaps help them learn about the concepts at play.  I also hope that this trip brings along a lot more of the sense of childlike wonder I felt when I first saw the unassembled bell – I think it will.

Electric Bell. Maybe I will grow a mustache like this kid in Tanzania...

My next update will come after I am in Usa River, Tanzania. Until then, Kwa Heri!