Karla Karma

The year when Lonnie should have turned 65 and our mother 100. With the passing of my Aunt Johnnie at 102, the last of my parents' blood siblings, my generation becomes the elders. Twenty fifteen, a year like none other. But that can obviously be said about any year, right? Right. Yeah, but.....

Baby Lonnie

Mom's 80th birthday
Wyatt, me, Max, Clip, Pam and Lonnie
Uncle O seated with Mom

Jane Lombardo

With Bonnie at her 70th birthday party in Guarare

January - After much discussion, with John Munson, my fellow Bots 11 who also served in Panama, Volunteers previously and currently serving and a great deal of research, I go to Panama to find a place to live. I am hosted by RPCVs, Bonnie Birker and Jane Lombardo, who, wait for it, served in BOTSWANA in the first wave after independence.

Goodbye baby girl, Will Cotter and my daughter, Kamani

I give myself 10 days, see eight houses in Rompio, Pocri, Coronado, Gorgona and Pedasi. I meet some lovely, lovely people and some, mainly ex-pats, that look at me like I'd spit in their beer. But, fortunately, they, the latter, were the minority. But its the house in Pedasi and the town itself that clinch the deal. Back to California, to pack, say my goodbyes and....

In Gorgona

February - I MOVE TO PANAMA, to Pedasi in the Los Santos District!

March - For the first time since I was 5, I literally do NOTHING, no school, no work, no volunteering, no child raising. It is fucking incredible.

April - StarKat adopts me. Writing! I submit what I hope is my dissertation proposal.......still waiting to hear. My first attempt at writing a screenplay. Its bloody awful.

Kat is a mighty hunter. She's brought me a bat, sphinx moth, geckos and other lizards and this decapitated, eviscerated mouse

One of my vecinas cats

Yet again, a bat finds me

May - My intrepid son, Khalil, tells me about his new girlfriend, Laressa Tobias. Stay tuned

June - I go from sexty two to boring sixty three, throw myself the first annual Happy Birthday Potluck Dance Party.

On Bull Beach

Ragan Mozee - she is the only person to come visit me in the four years I've lived abroad

With Jane, Jeff Gardner, Bob Arias (RPCV & CD) and Randy

Susie, Bonnie, Randy, Mikkel and Jane

July - Finish my memoir, Two Thirds Terrific, about my Peace Corps experience. Over 900 pages, mainly because of the pics but still a tad long.......editing.

Cover design less the words

August - I go to South America! Columbia! Medellin!

After nine months from when I made my original request, FOIA finally sends me materials. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, I'll explain later) they are not the materials requested. I had applied to do another PC tour and was rejected, supposedly because even after having successfully completing a tour and extending for a third year, I was less qualified than someone that had not had this experience (insert snort of derision here). I had refused to list the Country Director as a reference (another long story). The reviewer asked at least one of my references what was behind that and, I suspected, spoke to the CD anyway.

I appealed and under duress listed the CD. My appeal showed that no longer being qualified was a ludicrous, at best, conclusion, but it, too was rejected. So I requested through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) any and all materials related to the review of my application and the appeal. What I got were materials related to also rejected application to do a fourth year in Botswana. Very interesting but not what I'd waited nine months to receive.

Now a year since my original request!

September - Murphy's Law Fishing

I get violently sea sick, Jane gets a hook in her hand (here with LeLoni) and every fish we catch has to be thrown back, too small

Using the materials from FOIA, I file a formal complaint and request for action.

Supposed to receive the correct materials from FOIA......
Join Writer's group

October - Isla Iguana. I am Mother Africa for Halloween, at Smiley's. Finished editing memoir. It's down to less than 500 pages.

Connie Moller

With Commie Moller

Susie Grey

Laressa and Khalil

November - Writing writing writing! My son got engaged!!

Christmas night

Thomas, founder of the Writers Group at Connie and Mikkel Moller's Meet and Greet

The day after Christmas, Boxing Day and the first day of Kwanzaa

Christmas Eve at Smiley's. Sam in the background

December - Strangest holiday I've ever experienced

Dance my ass off, New Years Eve

At Smiley's, once more, where Santa comes to ring in the new year

This month marks my third year anniversary in Botswana. It also takes the countdown to three months.....I'm outta here in THREE MOTHER FUCKING MONTHS and its pretty much the only thing keeping me here. I just have three mother fucking months to go.....I can do it but damn its hard.

fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck

If you are a facebook friend, you may have seen my note today about being so frustrated with my third year that I left work and came home to take a four hour nap. It was better than bitch slapping my counterpart....barely.

Got an email from a PC staff that had the 'unenviable' task of telling me I wasn't getting a shadow this year. Why unenviable? I wasn't expecting a shadow since I live in the training village. I offered to host anyone that wouldn't be able to travel. But apparently I am now viewed as being, what, uncooperative? Spoiled? Difficult? I think I may be one of the most cooperative volunteers in country, always stepping up, offering to do whatever I can whenever I can. But because I drew a line in the sand on two occasions (the first, refusing to attend the original Bots 11 Life Skills retreat offered by the Ministry of Education; second more recent, refusing to let my 3rd year project be gutted to satisfy the CD's political agenda) and let it be known on no uncertain terms, you do NOT get to fuck with me and simply get away with it.

My application to do another full tour was rejected and suspect that was the result of my refusing to list the CD as a reference. I have appealed but don't really care if its approved. I've had enough of the petty beauracacy that is Peace Corps.