The Verdict's Not Quite In...

Sunday I was in a (surprisingly) great mood and totally at ease leading up to Karma's interview appointment.  He called me on his way to the Embassy and he's taken a tuk-tuk (auto rickshaw) instead of a taxi.  This is jarring to ALL the senses and it's about a 40 minute ride.  He was trying to be frugal, but I told him not to do that again. It's painful to think about!

I was so disappointed that they didn't approve it right away, but the short of it is is that they want more proof on paper that we're in a loving, romantic relationship.  This is difficult because we haven't done much emailing or any snail mail because of his written English abilities....I wrote a letter and had it notarized explaining this, so I hope that will suffice.  They also wanted notarized letters from my parents "discussing" what they think of this engagement.  They think it's crazy that the government cares what a 29 (almost) year old's parents think! My parents are amazing and are going along with the system's request.

Once we've sent everything to Karma and he submits it, it will be another week or two before they contact him.  They could ask for even more information, they could approve it or they could deny it.  So...we remain in limbo.

We were hoping that he could come to Virginia and meet me while I'm staying there (9/3-923), but we'll just have to wait and see.

On another note,  I was chuckling with my friends about some of Karma and my cultural differences and here is a perfect example.  He finally told the people in the head office of the Library where he lives and works (part of the monastery as a whole).  Then he asked them to write a letter on our behalf, to which they eagerly agreed.  However, when he sent me a copy I just couldn't figure out HOW they'd come up with the fact that we'd known each other for "3 years."  It will be 2 in November.
He said, "Oh, well we met in 2008, then 2009, now it's 2010!"  (*Duh*)  It made my day!  I couldn't stop laughing.  I asked him to have them fix it and they did, but the monk who wrote it said, "Westerners are SO particular." LOL  *love it!*

Keep sending love and prayers and mojo and vibes.......I'll keep updating!

Also, please pray for Nick Franca, a 20 year old boy from my hometown that is battling cancer.  His mother is my mom's best friend.  They have a blog, too, that really puts things in perspective when I'm worrying about such petty things.  Even worrying about Karma's visa really seems frivolous in comparison.

xo