Goats, Weddings and John

I am having so much fun here. Whether it's at work or home, or just walking around, Kenya is getting better and better by the day. And this is why.
Today was the first time I walked to work on my own. I know, that sounds pathetic. But before today, I was still a little intimidated to walk around freely. After all, I am new to the town and other than Kevin and maybe 2 or 3 others - I am the only "Muzungu" in town. So, back to my walk to work...
Walking to work is so special. I first walk upon red dirt paths, as I slowly approach the main road. In the far distance I hear faint rooster crows, which remind me constantly that it is very early in the morning. I often hear many moos, and almost always stumble across wandering goats. Kenyans cycle or drive by me yelling "hi brother" or "how are you!' As I approach the main road, high hills filled with avacado trees and rustic Kenyan villages are exposed to me as they mount the red dirt paths (as you can probably tell I am absolutely crazy about the red dirt paths). Within a few moments, I wave my hand up in the air to catch a Matatu. I am then taken to town for another 15 minutes of walking.
Part of the charm here involves what you see and experience simply by walking around. As I walked towards the railroad tracks on the way to work, two men with a bicycle full of bananas yell "HEY JOHN!" to me. I wasn't quite sure what to be more surprised about. The fact that they assumed my name was John and yelled it, or that they each had a bicycle full of bananas. Either way, I did the polite thing and said "Hi" back, even though for the record, my name has always been Tommy.
Carolyn, the housekeeper in of our home-stay, gave me another nickname. She calls me Kamau (CAHM-OW). It is a name from the famous "Kikuyu" tribe here in Kenya. She said I remind her of a Kikuyu. I didn't know what to think of this. See if you can see the resemblance yourself. When I asked her to clarify this she said, "you are a small man." What an ego stroke.
Today at work I did the usual. I helped register and bill the patients with my coworker Sicily. She is Kikuyu too but she is a woman so she is expected to be small. She is a very nice lady. I took her out to lunch at our favorite place. Fresh dirt-road made french fries, salsa, rice, and a freshly-sliced avacado. Only 60 shillings for the both of us. That is roughly 80 cents. Kenyans are so nice. The cooks offered to carry my plate literally 20 feet to my desk. If I was a British colonialist in the 1930's, I would have happily accepted.
I am becoming great friends with my coworkers. We laugh and talk about anything, and I am absolutely amazed by how close you can become with complete strangers in such a short period of time. I feel 100% comfortable with them. They already want me to stay longer with them and one of them wanted me to come to her daughter's wedding! For the record, I am SO upset that I can't make it to that! Apparently they are all sacrificing a goat before the ceremony by slitting its throat. As much as I hate animal cruelty, I also hate not being able to eat a freshly killed goat. Unfortunately I have to be at a beach resort on the Indian Ocean that day. Clearly my life here is very hard.
Thanks again so much for reading! I have a ton more to share, and will do so in future posts. Among those things....


1. Members of my host family

2. More on the hospital environment

3. My upcoming birthday weekend in West Africa!

4. Indian Ocean trip

5. Safari at the end of this whole thing!

And anything else that happens in between...