The Invitation

Dear Local Friends and Extended Family,

There is, finally, no defying it: it seems that for the forseeable future, I will be living on the spur of the moment. Including having a goodbye party being thrown for me at the last minute, and being the one asked to send out the invitations! My parents are hosting an open-house-type bon voyage, this Saturday afternoon/evening starting at 4 pm; this is my last weekend in the Bay Area, and the coming week will be filled with departure logistics, so this will be my final chance to see many of you and say goodbye. For those who are able, we'd love to see you here; just bring yourselves and your families, we'll have hors d'euvors, dinner and dessert -- this is also going to be my last chance to cook properly for a very very long time!
Here's the proper invitation:

Open House Bon Voyage for Antonia
Saturday October 15th - 4 pm till we drop!
Hosts: Ron and Sally Mancini
RSVP: rsmancini@kepnet.com or 650-326-9850
Address: 915 Theresa Court, Menlo Park, CA 94025


As a background for those who have no idea what I'm talking about:

After over two years of relative uncertainty, I am about to embark on a voyage into the complete unknown. I am, as many of you know, intent on getting into a nursing program abroad, which has proven next to impossible to do from here. I feel strongly that the training I would receive is the best possible to prepare me for the humanitarian work I want to do, and I am willing to put life on hold for a time and take this leap of faith to hopefully make it happen. It will be a stressful, unpredictable time; I will not have the ability to legally work, I cannot legally stay past 6 months, my "next moves" will be dependant on whatever strides I make (or don't) with each school I visit, and I will not always know where I'm going or what I'm doing until it happens. I also don't know how easy it will be to keep in contact, what kind of schedule I'll be able to keep and therefore what free time I'll have for communication or socialization, and most importantly: when, or if, I'm coming back. Uncertainties abound. The schedule I've kept the last year and a half has made me a difficult person to know -- that's about to get exponentially more severe. But despite all of the challanges that this direction presents, and as much as there are aspects of the journey I'm not felicitously anticipating, I know the path is the right one; now all I have to do is start walking.

I hope to see you Saturday, though I know that this impulsive gathering may be coming on top of already-laid weekend plans; to all of you who I will not get to visit before I leave, hugs and warm thoughts and until we meet again :)

All the best,
Antonia