It was another fabulous sunny day in Sevilla. I had just finished lunch with Tahlia, a friend from the US who is currently contracted with the 15s team in Sevilla. I walked her home like a gentle lady and in exchange was given a pair of her jean shorts for the summer (super generous) since I mostly have my winter and rain gear here from my time in the north. And the weather gets HOT HOT HOT in Sevilla. 

Anywho Tahlia lives in the same neighborhood as my friend Sara so I gave her a call. Sara and I met 4 years ago playing for the Universidad de Sevilla when I was studying abroad. Plans can really change in a jif around here and before I knew it I was on my way with Sara, as spectator, to my first padel match. Sara and I were both surprised to see I was accidentally dressed perfectly in team uniform. Sara’s described 10 minute walk to the courts was actually more like 45-50 minutes. But with our incredibly flama Spanglish conversation and the stimulating scenery around me I didn’t even really notice the extra distance. 

I had never seen a padel game before but this super nice man sat next to me and tried to explain some of the rules and lingo. Padel is like a mix of tennis, racket ball, and ping pong. It’s the second most popular sport in Spain besides soccer, at least that’s what the sweet angel woman who helped me open my bank account told me. It’s quite exciting to watch because the ball can bounce off the wall or through the door and it’s still in play, that is, if you can get to it! 

So after an interesting conversation with the nice man about padel and the purge, Sara and I started heading back to the city’s center. About 20 minutes into our walk I realized I was HUNGRY. And not just a little hungry but really really freaking hungry. Unfortunately our walk was down a long strip of nothing but sidewalk, parks, and grass - no food in sight. AND it was past 8:30 when all the bars and restaurants close due to COVID. Sara could see the pain in my eyes (apparently they were low key rolling around a bit, not cute) and she asked if I needed to sit down. I was trying to keep it cool, placebo effect my way through the situation, I was like no no I’m okay! The faster we get to our destination and can order UberEats the better. Well about 2 minutes later I was convulsing on the side of the street throwing up any bit of water I drank in the last 6 hours without food. What could have been a cute stroll by the park turned into me, hair pulled back, squatting over a bush, eyes watering, hangry, slightly afraid, and delirious. 

I rarely RARELY throw up. I went 4 months backpacking through China, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand and I was one of the only ones (maybe the only???) from my group who didn’t go to vom-town at least once. So yes, I really thought I could placebo effect my way through the delirious state and stomach pains, but it turns out I could not. A few barfs and an uber ride later we had relocated to a local park where we had plans to order our UberEats and meet up with some of Sara’s friends. I was being annoyingly indecisive about what I wanted to order because I didn’t know what would make me feel better or worse. Before I could decide we were being kicked out the park as it apparently closed at 9. 

So off we were again. We ordered our UberEats on the go as we both knew the situation was NOT good. For some reason hungry, delirious, vulnerable Dana decided she wanted sushi. (After throwing up I feel like sushi was not the move??) But the important thing was the order was in and food was on the way. As we’re walking to relocate I felt that knot in my throat again. And uh oh - there I was again, throwing up next to a car on the side of the street. After about 6 body convulsions I looked up at Sara with tears streaming down my cheeks and a smile on my face. “Okay - I’m good.” She knew I couldn’t make it much further so we made ourselves comfortable sitting on the stoop of a local bank on a busy street corner waiting for our beloved UberEats man to arrive. We stared longingly at the app screen watching the little “preparing your food” icon, hoping that our stares would telepathically speed up the process.

But HEYO what is that off in a distance??? A little convenient store?!?! Thank you thank you to this blessed universe. Scanning the shelves I grabbed the first thing that caught my attention which was THE most gloriously shitty bowl of pasta and an ice cold gatorade to replenish my electrolytes. I cried tears of joy as that dry bowtie pasta touched my tongue for the first time sitting on that stained street corner bank stoop. (Pictured in the blog post title photo.) The immediate relief that I felt rushing through my entire body is truly indescribable.

About 40 minutes later our UberEats sushi finally arrived. Sara asked if I wanted to go somewhere else to eat it but, that bank stoop that barely fit my bum on it felt like our home base for the night. So we stayed, sat, ate, and I very slowly came back to life. With a dead phone and a half eaten container of edamame, I made my way back home for the night. 

It is safe to say that from this day on I ALWAYS have an emergency snack on me. And I am SURE to be eating at a minimum every 3 hours. You will NOT catch me without a banana or bag of nuts at my disposal. Lesson learned. But for safety precautions, if we’re friends, please remember to pack a snack when we hangout. :)