I finally got my wish. When we returned to Mumbai we experienced heavy rains and several days of flooding. During the short breaks in rain, we ran errands in Mumbai, finished our shopping and visited Nadia’s extended family.

After a lot of conversation and some soul searching, we decided to return to California to prepare for our next adventure: Russian lessons and volunteering in Kazakhstan.

We spent a little over a month in California studying Russian, packing and hanging out with friends and family. Highlights include time in the ocean kayaking and surfing, spending time with friends and family in San Diego and LA, BBQ on the beach, 75 cent rides at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, nightlife in San Francisco and family reunions.

We are excited for the opportunity. More from Kazakhstan to come soon…

We spent our last few days frenetically packing and trying to spend time with family and friends. Aaron’s brother David and his friend James came up to visit on Sunday, April 27, which happened to be an incredibly hot day. We headed to La Jolla and Pacific Beach to cool down at the coast.

In the late afternoon we went to Little Italy, in the downtown area, to catch an art show and ended the day with a great Italian dinner with family and friends David, James, Shireen, Sophia, and Henry.

After delicious Thai food at a funky rock n’roll joint in Hollywood, we caught up over hookah and drinks at a pizza joint/Middle Eastern lounge with our friend Bindi. It was gorgeous weather, must have been in the 70’s that night. Perfect for relaxing outdoors. Aaron particularly enjoyed the music selection, which included such classic artists as Coolio and other masterpieces from the hip hop of the early to mid nineties. Ahh…high school. Or in my case, middle school, but who’s counting?

We also met up over coffee with Aaron’s brother David and later in the day, Fishy/Jen, who filled us on her new career as a middle school teacher. During the day we relaxed at the beach in Malibu…this is the life!