We started our second week observing at the two Hospital Clinica Biblica in Downtown and Santa Ana. Although I had previously shadowed in a medical setting, it was interesting to be allowed to roam around different hospital settings and ask questions about different processes, especially from an engineering perspective. I observed the radiology department, the lobby area in Santa Ana, and the pharmacy department and laboratory in the Downtown location. I was surprised how difficult it was to determine possible ways to improve machinery and processes because many hospitals have accommodated these issues very quickly.
After these two days of observation, we started class at ULACIT with Dr. Wettergreen. We first started with a tour of the facilities — it was really interesting to see how most Costa Rican buildings were open to the environment and that students mostly commuted to university from work. There were also multiple coffee shops and serving areas which many of us were sure to take advantage of :). We then continued to vote for our projects and discuss with our team general rules and guidelines. I decided to shift from my original project and work on developing my skills in electronics with TENS. I really like my team because many of us have a range of backgrounds related to the project and have had the opportunity to get to know each other. Starting this way has been difficult as there is another team working on TENS and it feels very easy for both of us to form similar solutions as the solution constructed during the bootcamp. However, fresh perspectives have helped to implement new elements and consider how the previous solution can be improved.
We have also had the opportunity to shop around San Jose for different supplies. Our team split up and Carly and I went to a crafts store with colorful fabrics and materials.After, we were able to explore different cuisines in Costa Rica and ate at a Chinese food restaurant. It was interesting to see how different communities were able to bring their food and culture to Costa Rica while also demonstrating Costa Rican influence. The next day, I was also able to go with Alice to a medical device store to purchase TENS. After that day, Carly and I ate at an Egyptian restaurant. I felt very much at home as I was able to try my own cuisine and eat with people from similar cultures at the restaurant. It was also finally nice to have access to halal food in Costa Rica; I’m very eager to go again.
Colorful glitter at the crafts store!
Egyptian food in Costa Rica?
With this past week, our team was able to construct very low fidelity separated components of our solution. Jake and Carly went to purchase chunky women’s sneakers and we cut the base of the shoe to insert the TENS device. James worked on drawing a schematic diagram to connect the TENS device to an Arduino so the user would have the ability to manipulate controls during use. I worked on assembling the sock and making a presentation for our team. Over this week, I was very proud of our team and our ability to divide tasks despite different experience levels. The technical review also helped to open our eyes to some missteps; we hope to take this feedback to create a higher fidelity prototype that considers the impact of conductive material and the ease of use of the device.
Low Fidelity Sock and In-Sole Components
For the last event, we continued our ENGI 350 work and split up into groups to take over the city. I first went on my own to Mezquita de Omar for Jummah prayer which was very exciting. The mosque was gorgeous and it was super informative to learn about how such a small minority in Costa Rica conducts life. Although there weren’t too many people, I learned about other mosques. It was also so interesting to see how similar mosques here were to American mosques; I’m super excited to explore another one with Raniyah next week. After, I joined Carly and Leticia at the Museum for Contemporary Art and Design. It was a very peculiar museum, to say the least. The first floor consisted of name-brand products, there were books distributed throughout the museum, and the final floor included disturbing “social experiment” films. One of these films actually focused on the dual representation of Muslim women which was very interesting.
One of the three mosques in Costa Rica!
Being artsy at the Museum of Contemporary Art 🙂
This week was very busy, but I am super excited to see what next week brings.