For months, Shu Lin quietly prepared a special surprise for her Greek mother-in-law, learning to speak and read Greek so she could address her in her native language at the couple’s wedding reception in Greece.
Shu shared a video of the emotional moment on social media, explaining that she had been learning Greek since April. Her mother-in-law knew she was taking lessons but did not know the real reason. The bride had told friends and relatives that she mainly wanted to learn enough Greek to order food at restaurants — an explanation that was partly true, since her love of food helped her learn more vocabulary, as she wrote.
The real goal, however, was to keep her language lessons secret so none of their Greek friends or relatives could accidentally reveal the surprise.
The moment came at the wedding reception, held at her mother-in-law’s family taverna in Greece. Shu Lin apologized in advance for her slower pace, occasional mispronunciation and imperfect intonation, but managed to deliver the speech she had been preparing for months.
She described her mother-in-law as an extraordinary person, full of love, strength, warmth, care, generosity and humor. From the beginning, she said, she had been warmly welcomed into the family, with their early conversations often taking place through Google Translate.
As her Greek improved, Shu Lin wanted to be able to communicate directly with her mother-in-law and express her affection and gratitude in her native language.
Among the words she finally delivered was the phrase: “I love you very much, my mom.”
