One week down, six weeks to go!

The past five days have been chock full of activities from the moment we walk in to the OEDK to the moment we go home. Despite the seemingly exhaustive schedule for this summer, this week has actually been relaxing for me. On Monday and Tuesday, we spent the majority of the time getting to know our peers from Brazil and Malawi. Though my family immigrated to this country from Mexico, I was born here and the “American” culture is a large part of my everyday life. Because of this, it has been interesting to learn about the other countries represented in this program. With each new fact I learn, I’m more encouraged to travel and visit these foreign countries!

Here are some images from a culture presentation we made on the infrastructure & geography of our countries. On the top is an image of mountains in Brazil. On the bottom is an image of Lake Malawi.

(The OEDK seems kind of colorless in contrast to these places….)

 

Aside from getting to know our new international friends, we’ve started a fast-paced “bootcamp” this week. What’s the goal for this bootcamp? Engi 120 in five days!

Now this may seem an impossible feat, but the schedule has actually worked well for us. Though this is my third time (yes, third) viewing this material and the fabulous videos filmed by Dr. Wettergreen and Dr. Saterbak, I’m learning new information every day. Seeing how my international peers interpret the material has changed my perspective on the engineering design process. At Rice, we tend to act as though there is never enough time in a day. We rush about our activities equating faster with better. It’s better to finish a project earlier than take too long designing in depth, right? Wrong. Sometimes it’s okay to take a breath and talk through ideas before rushing to a decision. After all, it’ll lead to a more successful end product!

 

In addition to the typical classroom work, we’ve also been able to participate in various workshops. One of my favorite workshops was about deconstruction. Each team was giving some type of machine that was no longer working, and our goal was to take it apart and see what made it tick. My team was handed probably the most difficult object, with screws that seemed to be drilled in for all eternity. Yet we eventually opened it and the result was very satisfying… liquid coolant all over our table and floor! (maybe the screws were meant to be left alone)

We also had the chance to visit the Houston Zoo twice this week. We saw all the exhibits and learned about a project we will be undertaking involving an enrichment device for the Okapi. But there will be more on that in weeks to come, so for now here’s a picture of the photogenic animals we will be working alongside.

      

It’s a zebra?? It’s a giraffe??? It’s….. adorable.