Mission Trip 2016

“Did you ever hear of xxxxxxx? I lost 100 lbs. on it.”

This was said by my seat-mate in his broken English and took several tries for me to understand although I never did catch the name of the product he used. I was on a 50-minute flight from Vijayawada to Hyderabad in a propeller plane. It was not a plane I was supposed to be on. Mine, a regular-sized aircraft without a roof rack for the luggage (kidding), was delayed at least 4-hours if it would ever make it. Fog and smog in Delhi, a perpetual problem during January, had grounded almost all the flights. So, I switched to Spice Jet, a low-cost 4-seats-across airlines, made for folks who weigh 125lbs or less and are under 5-feet – perfect for Indians. Twice I apologized to my new friend. “No problem,” he demurred until it was time to land . . . then the zinger!

I know I need to lose weight. It’s a struggle. To these fine folks I must look like a giant or the personification of Buddha. Most are courteous about it. I get a lot of stares, but what pale-faced westerner doesn’t. Eating a steady diet of rice and curry might help.  The hot curry would burn away all the calories, right? Staying away from sweets is a good idea. All of which happens when I am in India resulting in what, I call, the India-diet. I generally drop 15lbs when over here. We’ll see if that holds true this time.

Weight was also an issue with my luggage. Since Spice Jet’s low-weight tolerance for luggage (15Kg) and my suitcases at over 35Kg, it cost more for the suitcases than my seat, $90 and $60, respectively. I should have purchased two seats. “But then you’d need to fill them,” I was told by the ticket person. “Hello! Have you looked at me recently? . . . Trust me, I can fill both of them and then some!”