Shake, Rattle and....Hot Water!

It's been an interesting busy week. First, there have been some minor earthquakes here in Nairobi the past 10 days. I think the biggest one was a 6.0. I had no idea that could occur here and from the reaction of the Kenyans they didn't either! One night I woke up at around 2:30 to the sound of the dogs barking, birds screeching. Minutes later everything in my room including my bed started rocking, shaking. Pretty crazy. I don't think there has been any damage but it's put everyone a little more on edge.
This is a presidential election year here which has added to the tension. On the one hand it's good because the incumbent is trying to get lots of things done so the people will vote for him, on the other hand there are demonstrations that often turn violent. The papers are full of political news.One thing I've found interesting here is no one reports about the weather, there's no forecast in the paper, no weather section on the nightly Kenyan news. I asked a Kenyan friend about it, he thought it was hilarious how much attention is paid to it in the US. He said why would you ever care so much about something you can do absolutely nothing about? good point. He also said all they care about here is politics. Politicians are the Kenyan celebrities. At least they have democratic elections. The election is set for December, I am glad I will be back home before that.
Crime continues to be a big issue here. There are 3 Fulbrighters here now, myself, heather, and a film student from USC. He was carjacked and his house robbed at machine gunpoint a few weeks ago, had all his stuff stolen. Including all his project stuff. 10 months of work gone. he was pretty traumatized, and is most likely just going to go home. It makes me glad I'm safe here at Nyumbani. And I am.
My friend Dr. Beck was here for a week, we had a great time. She did physical exams on all the kids in the day care! It took 2 days. You've never heard so many crying children! For many of them it was the first time they had ever been seen by a doctor, scary enough, but a mzingu one at that. Just about did them in. Now, every child has had their growth plotted, a medical chart created, and a baseline exam. The staff at the day care are so grateful for everyone's contribution, especially Dr. Beck.
I am getting ready to teach my program to 30 kids from the Nairobi slums. They will travel every day for 4 days to the kawangware slum, where the Kenyan nurse, Francis, and I will teach it. They get a free lunch and a Movin Shoes back pack for coming. I'm really looking forward to it, then when I'm done my Fulbright project obligation is essentially done for here. The rest of the time I will spend training other people so the project goes on.
The Cottage D kids are all doing well, Ken is not putting on weight but still he's not getting as sick. He seems depressed a lot now, and they don't deal well with that here. How that child has and continues to suffer.
The good news! They put up new solar panels on the volunteer house, and on a sunny day we have a hot shower!!! I had one yesterday, the first hot shower since we were on safari on July 8th. The only drawback is for some reason the water smells like gasoline. But, thank God, it's hot!!!!
Kuwa Salama Officer Tim, xoxoxo little boy