You don't need this, I can take it?

AH! I've been looking forward to today, and getting started with our service exploration for a while now and now that the day is coming to an end, I couldn't have asked for a better experience.
This morning we took a taxi to our first appointment at Mokolodi Game Reserve, which is right outside of Gaborone. We got there and met with Peter, and man who is from Massachusetts, but came to Botswana 31 years ago through the Peace Corps and has stayed ever since. He started out the morning by showing us his Barack Obama for Pres shirts which we all enjoyed!! We then got a quick tour around the Education Centre which hosts schoolchildren of all ages for day trips or overnight trips, and they teach them a lot about conservation and wildlife. I really loved the mission and focus of the education they provide and think maybe they've got this whole "go green" thing down! After the tour we went on a safari! Okay...well not exactly a real safari...but a ride in one of those open truck things with benches! We drove around a portion of this game reserve and the tour lasted about an hour and a half. The scenery itself was just gorgeous and none of my pictures can do it justice. It still was so weird to be sitting in that truck and think "I'm in Africa...in the desert with the animals!" We saw a variety of wildlife, including warthogs (which Jack and Matt were extremely excited about), impalas, many ostriches (which are HUGE!!) , cheetahs, wild horses, different kinds of monkeys or baboons...many others but I can't remember. Right before I left to come over here, someone told me that hippos kill more people in Africa each year than any other year combined...I shared this with my grandma and scared her...but I just thought that was such a weird statistic! But today we went to a part of the reserve that is a river, and the guides told us that two hippos and one crocodile live there...but we had no sightings. No worries! I kiiinda wish I could have seen them though!! : ) We're going to return on Thursday to help them with a class that they are teaching to pre-schoolers and see where we can fit into their organization best. After all of that we decided to go back to a mall that was kind of close to the reserve and have some lunch before our next appointment.
Our next meeting was at the Tlamelo Project, a feeding project for all children in a village called Old Naledi, that is kind of inside Gaborone, and kind of on the outskirts. Old Naledi is a huge village, and it is pretty much enclosed from the rest of the city, but it is definitely a more destitute area than the rest of Gaborone. Walking in there though was kind of cool, because everyone seems to know each other and it is a huge community.
We found the Tlamelo Project, and the second we walked in the gates about 50 kids came over and immediately one literally jumped into my arms. When that happened, I just felt like...this is where we are and why we're here! It was so exciting! We just played with the kids for about 20 minutes while we waited for the director, Champ, to arrive, and it was great. They all kept coming up and the older ones who know English would ask various questions and it was SO amazing being able to interact with these kids. They kept asking our names, and trying to pronounce them, and it got easier for them to spell them out in the sand so they could see what our names looked like and then call us their version. Mine is apparently Jayney, which is fine as Danielle and Les are calling me that anyway now!! The younger ones didn't really know English yet, but they just wanted to be held, or to hold your hand or to get on your back or on your shoulders. They loved all of our watches and kept trying to take mine off saying, "You don't need this, you can get a new one, I'll take it for you..."! I think Jack taught the boy on his back to grab my hair so that was an adventure! I walked out of that place looking rough, but NO problem!! : )
When Champ arrived, he sat us down and talked to us a little about Tlamelo, explaining to us that it feeds about 170 children each day from Old Naledi, and they come to Tlamelo after they get out of their school, which is just down the road. Tlamelo gives them a good meal (which for many and most of the kids is their only real meal for the day) and also gives small lessons, has a few volunteers that meet almost daily with each child to talk to them and consult with them, and they play sports and games with these kids. He just kept saying that we are so welcome there and they are so grateful to us for coming, and I felt so great about being in this place. He told us to be at home, not just feel at home, but to "be at home" with these kids, and do what we want to love and help them and to serve them...it's so incredibly exciting!! That's such the way that I've felt the whole time we've been here...not to feel at home, but to be at home, and it was just great to hear that from Champ, just further reinforces the kindness and attitude of the people of Botswana.
As we left Tlamelo the kids stayed attached to us and we told them we'd see them Wednesday when we are going to return. I can not WAIT to get back there. Kids are kids everywhere, but these kids seem incredibly happy and enthusiastic and just simple. I'm so excited to see where this leads us and the work that is being prepared for us.
We also conquered the Combi system today (public transportation! - little white vans that pack like 18 people in!) and it wasn't as scary as I thought, but it definitely helped that Jack and Marinda and Les and Meeka had a little precursor the other day!! I feel so comfortable here...and I still can't pinpoint it, but am so glad that this is where I am and what I'm doing and who I'm with. Each day just gives me more excitement and I can't wait for the next day, and I think I'm really enjoying that kind of living.