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…

It was gorgeous weather for much of our stay, and when not sleeping, eating, or cleaning my mom’s shed to make room for all our stuff, we took time to visit the beach. We made it to Torrey Pines, Del Mar Beach, and also P.B. Aaron skinboarded at Mission Beach while I basked in the sun. We met up with our friends Lauren, Karla and Marty for some excellent greek cuisine at Cafe Athena in Pacific Beach.

We had a chance to visit with Aaron’s grandmother Jane and all in all, spent lots of quality time with friends and family, including a fun bbq at my mom Shireen’s house. It was great to spend so much time with Sophia, Khalid and Shireen. Two weeks is definitely not enough for San Diego.