[KyleGoetz]

Thank you both. I knew that 結婚の話し was one unit, but I couldn't figure out exactly what it meant. In my head, I envisioned a son trying to get permission to marry a daughter by asking her parents.

I was applying too much of a western concept to the Japanese!

I am aware of the matchmaker concept. Honestly, I've forgotten the term I learned for it years ago in Japanese, but I recently studied the kanji 媒, and through that, I learned the word 媒介, which I think was "go-between" or "mediator." Is this related?

Oh wait, I remembered the word I once learned: おみあい. But based on what I'm guessing the kanji are (お見合い), I'll bet it doesn't mean "matchmaker" but rather is a meeting of two matched people. *uses dictionary* Yup.

Thanks for the help, all! I hope I can at least improve the board by keeping up with these lessons and posting my translations!

I still suggest learners buy the book because it has exercises in it, too.