I never found any wheels that could be greased. I asked about paying extra to expedite - no way.
Probably just as well, we couldn't afford any meaningful bakseesh anyway, though I'd meant/hoped administrative wheels. Who to bug to keep things moving, etc.
invitee in question is the 8 year old daughter of a gravely ill aunt of my wife's. Brain tumor, not sure if it's operable yet. Hoping for the best, want to prepare for the worst and make sure she can come here to us if it comes to it. Our daughter is only a couple years older, and all the other aunts/uncles are in their 50's/60's, all the cousins are too young. We're the best choice of her generation, even with an ocean betwen us.
I think there are a number of marriages that do not survive.
My inlaws were initially worried, cross cultural marriages can be dificult, and a huge number fail ( a huge number are between 18-19 year old GIs and their equally young girlfriends, which partially explains the high failure rate). Fortunately we didn't have to deal with distance as well (except from my inlaws
). My MIL to be came out a year prior to the wedding and honestly grilled me harder than any of the interviews I went through to get a TS clearance back in the day. Linguistic strain, as she doesn't speak any English. My Korean is pretty good, but I always kind of suspect that I sound like either a slow child, or someone with a head injury when I'm confined to it. Must have done okay, she vetted the union, and has even graciously invited us home to Suwon, where we can fuel neighborhood gossip for years to come.
Really have a great time getting reaquainted.
