When geoscientist Jennifer Erich told her family she had been offered a position in Bangalore, India, her daughter Miranda was incredulous.

“I remember being like, what? That doesn’t even sound real – it sounds like a movie,” Miranda said.

At the time, Miranda was 14, and finishing eighth grade at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart in Houston. She had never moved anywhere before – much less halfway around the world.

“I didn’t really think she would take the job at first,” she said. “I thought it was just something that comes and goes.”

But the idea didn’t go away. And in 2021, as the world was still reeling from Covid, the Erichs – Jennifer, her husband Andy, and Miranda – made the decision to go.

What followed would transform how they saw the world – and themselves.

Time in the Maldives near an overwater villa at Kuramathi Resort, March 2023.

A leap taken in uncertain times

The timing was anything but easy. India was in the grip of devastating Covid waves, with images of overwhelmed hospitals filling global news.

“All of the paperwork that we were doing, and getting our minds wrapped around going to India – and that was when we saw these images on the news of really, really bad Covid [cases] in India,” Jennifer said.

Miranda, meanwhile, did what many teenagers would do: She Googled the worst-case scenarios.

“Of course, everyone has their own stereotypes about India,” she said. “I was assuming it was just dirt roads, no real houses. I really didn’t know much about it.”

Friends reinforced those fears. “Everyone thought I was going to live in a mud hut and not have water,” she said. “That’s what I thought too.”

But the fear was offset by curiosity, and a sense of intrigue. For Andy, the decision came with trepidation, but also clarity.

“How can I not take this opportunity?” he asked himself. “There really will not be another chance to go and live in another country and to really experience the other side of the world.”

In the end, the family decided that uncertainty wasn’t a reason to stay put – it was a reason to go. In late 2021, they packed up their Houston life and boarded a plane bound for southern India.

JOY BEFORE I DO At a pre-wedding haldi ceremony in Cuttack, December 2024, celebrating one of Jennifer's employees with family and friends.

First impressions: loud, colorful, overwhelming

The southern city of Bangalore would be their base: a sprawling, fast-growing city of more than 12 million people – home to multinational tech firms, research centers, and international schools, and a major Asian hub of ExxonMobil, Jennifer’s employer. Often described as India’s Silicon Valley, it combines global business culture with deeply local traditions, making it a common landing place for expat families – and a sharp contrast to the rural images many Americans still associate with India.

Jennifer arrived first, stepping off the plane in the wee hours, exhausted and jet-lagged. Bangalore surprised her immediately.

“All the senses are accosted at once,” she said. “The noise, the color, the burning smell. And there’s just so many more people.”

She had expected oppressive heat. Instead, she found a city at higher elevation – windy, cooler, and buzzing with life. The burning smell near the airport soon dissipated, but the rest of the sensory overload – the vibrant colors, the noise and bustle – would become an accustomed part of their new life.

Her first mission was to find an apartment that would feel like home. After a careful search, she found it: a 7,000-square-foot flat that occupied the entire 10th floor of a high-rise of a lively, modern neighborhood with a mall and all the conveniences.

“It had white, beautiful marble floors – actual marble floors,” Jennifer marveled. “The landlords had painted all the walls white, and the floors were white.”

It was as far from the mud hut stereotype as one could get.

Andy and Miranda were delayed when one of their cats failed a required microchip scan, forcing the entire pet travel process to restart. Not wanting Miranda to make the journey alone, Jennifer flew back to Houston to bring her daughter with her, while Andy stayed behind with the cats.

He finally arrived weeks later, under much more challenging circumstances; India reinstated mandatory Covid testing while he was already in the air. Landing in the middle of the night, exhausted after more than 24 hours of travel, he was funneled through crowded testing lines before he could even leave the airport.

“My first moments on the ground in India were really awful,” Andy said.

Miranda with classmates at Stonehill International School in Bangalore, India.

School shock – and transformation

Miranda had some surprises in store as well – delightful as well as challenging. Her new school, Stonehill International, was an hour-and-a-half drive from home through Bangalore’s dense traffic. The school followed the rigorous International Baccalaureate curriculum. The student body was global, with classmates from India, Korea, Japan, France, Kenya, Egypt, and beyond.

“I thought that they would all be judging me because I was a foreigner, but actually they were all super kind, and I made a lot of friends pretty quick,” she recalls. “Everyone was really curious about why I was there and where I was from.”

Still, the adjustment was jarring.

“I remember my first math test in India,” Miranda said. “I actually cried during the test because I’d never learned that [type of math] before, and everyone else knew what was going on.”

Academically, she was suddenly lagging. “In the U.S., we were learning basic algebra,” she said. “In India, they were already way past that.”

But the challenge forced rapid growth. “I had to learn time management,” she said. “There was always something due the next day.”

Socially, the experience was transformative. Sleepovers with a best friend from Korea; hanging out at the mall with friends from Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Japan.

“High school really prepared me for life,” she said. “There was always something you had to get done, and you just learned how to handle it.”

A different rhythm of daily life

Life in Bangalore followed a rhythm unlike anything the family had known in Houston. Jennifer worked second shift to align with U.S. colleagues, while mornings became a pocket of freedom.

“I wouldn’t go to bed until after midnight, but I loved not waking up to an alarm,” she recalled.

Time differences led to small, surreal moments. “We’d watch American football on Monday morning,” Andy said. “Pajamas and coffee instead of chicken wings and beer.”

Andy, unable to work due to visa restrictions, embraced the role of household anchor – and language learner.

Inspired by household staff members who spoke five or six languages, he committed to learning Hindi, studying at least an hour a day for years. “If they can speak five, I can learn one,” he said.

Agra Fort in Uttar Pradesh, India, the centuries-old fortress and palace complex neighboring the Taj Mahal, January 2023.

Accidental celebrities

One of the family’s most unexpected discoveries was their visibility.

“Everywhere we went, people wanted to take our picture,” Jennifer said. “We must be in hundreds of people’s photos. Even grandmas would come up and grab their phone for a selfie.”

For Andy, the phenomenon reflected something cultural. “I think a lot of it is a status thing,” he said. “It was like, ‘I know foreigners. I know Americans.’ That’s important to some people.”

For Miranda, the attention was startling at first.

“I remember stepping out of the airport and there were just so many people staring at me,” she said. “I learned later it was just because I’m super pale and obviously a foreigner.”

What might have felt unsettling quickly became familiar. “They were just really curious.”

That curiosity often turned into warmth. “There were so many times when people were staring at me, and I would just wave at them,” Miranda said. “Then they’d smile and start talking to me.”

India as a gateway to the world

Living in India also changed the family’s relationship to travel. From Bangalore, destinations that once felt impossibly far became weekend trips.

“The Maldives was a 90-minute, $200 flight,” Jennifer said. “We went six times in four years.”

Within India, they explored palaces, temples, and Himalayan landscapes. “Mysore Palace is one of the most beautiful, colorful buildings I’ve ever seen,” Jennifer said.

They also ventured across Asia – to Sri Lanka, Japan, Thailand, and beyond – taking advantage of their location in the Eastern Hemisphere.

“We would never fly to the Maldives from the U.S. for a week,” Andy said. “But from India, it made sense.”

What they brought home

Now back in Houston, the Erichs are still unpacking the experience.

“Living in India has completely changed my appreciation for what wearing a bright color is,” Jennifer said. “In the U.S., we’ve become taupe, gray, black, navy, beige. When you walk through anywhere in India, everyone is in some of the brightest colors I’ve ever seen.”

That shift wasn’t just visual. For Miranda, it became personal. “Me and my mom, we went shopping a lot,” she said. “All the storekeepers were like, ‘You should try this one on.’” She began wearing saris regularly to weddings and events. “They love when foreigners try to dress how they would,” she said. “I definitely have like a billion saris in my closet now.”

But the deepest changes weren’t visible.

“Living in India helped me be a more open-minded person than I previously was, living in Houston my whole life.”

Now a freshman at the University of Iowa, Miranda says the experience can feel oddly invisible.

Explaining it isn’t easy. “It’s hard to put it in simple terms for people to understand,” she said. “They don’t really know what to ask.”

Sometimes, she finds herself noticing the gaps. “I remember being in class and someone asked if everyone knew where India was,” she said. “Not many people did. And someone said Africa was a country. I was like, guys, it’s literally a continent.”

Then came the realization.

“I realized that might have even been me if I never lived overseas,” she said. “I’m looking at someone I could have been if I never lived there.”

That awareness, she says, is the gift she carries forward. “I just think it taught me so much about the world that I never even comprehended before I moved.”

And when she does meet someone who’s lived abroad, the connection is immediate. “Once I realize someone lived outside the U.S.,” Miranda said, laughing, “I’m like, what’s your name? We need to be friends right now.”

Tips from Our Travelers

By Jennifer Erich

Worth the splurge: Gems! Some of the nicest and lowest-cost gemstones I’ve ever seen (emeralds, sapphires, rubies and so much more!)

Don’t miss: Tea plantations of Sri Lanka

Favorite restaurants: Leela Palace has some of the most creative and 5-star dishes I’ve ever tasted.

Currency exchange: Crazy good for the dollar. Almost 90 rupees to the USD.

Packing: Must bring good sunscreen of 50+ and Deet bug spray.

Don’t bring: Too many clothes.

Don’t forget: Do not drink the water! Always drink bottled water and shower with your mouth closed.

Avoid this local scam: Always bargain! Tourists are charged at least double for everything (carpets, jewelry, cashmere etc.)

Local favorite: The ginger chai is life changing.

Safety tip: No street food, ever!

Not really worth the trouble: Visiting the rest of Agra. You only go there to see the Taj Mahal and the Agra Fort.

Unexpected hit: We rode camels in the desert. The mount and dismount is not for the faint of heart, must hold on with very stiff arms. But the ride was really memorable and fun!