Are you engaged?
http://imgur.com/Bjfly I was even given some diamonds the ring my finance's late father gave her mother which was a mixed blessing. Hopefully your girlfriend is as patient as mine was.
I had the weird experience of getting my wife's engagement ring in China. My credit card wouldn't run at the store, so I had to go to the bank and then get a cash advance on my card. At the time it was 1USD to 8RMB. As the largest bill is 100RMB, I had a stack. I felt like a pimp dropping that on the counter. Even more so when 2 girls were called over to count it.
Danny: Sir, I love your daughter and I want to marry her. That's why I'm calling. Jack: First of all, Danny, the truth is this is just a courtesy call. Like when you say to your neighbor, "We're having a loud party on Saturday night if that's all right with you." What you really mean is, "We're having a loud party on Saturday night." Perhaps it's just my rebellion against my conservative background, but I want to separate myself as much as possible from traditions that imply that my fiancée is something to be given away. I know that asking them for their blessing isn't necessarily the same thing as asking permission to marry her, it's just something I'm weird about.
He didn't feel he was "giving her away" as much as he felt that he was saying to both her and I, "this guys good, he'll be a good partner for you, you have my thumbs up". Trust me, my wife belongs to no person. She is as independent and capable as human beings come. As a father of a daughter, I would someday hope (and perhaps expect) that the man she choses to marry will extend me the same courtesy. I would likely ask him very similar questions that my father in law asked. Hopefully, like me and my father in law, we will have a close relationship.
This is my favorite picture from the trip. Me and my gal: http://i.imgur.com/a9NJr.jpg
