Nea: When your luggage can't handle Barcelona

So, here I am in Barcelona, finally! My Erasmus+ journey started. I arrived with two of my friends on Friday, one day before our apartment booking started. That meant we had to spend our first night in a hotel. No big deal.

We landed on June 27th and were honestly just excited to get here. After arriving, we headed straight to the hotel and then went out for something to eat. We were all tired but also full of energy. You know that mix of exhaustion and excitement? Yeah, that.

The next day, things took an unexpected turn. We checked out of the hotel and walked out with all our luggage. Just three meters away was a zebra crossing and we needed to cross it. My friends were a few steps ahead and I was the last one to go. As I stepped on the sidewalk… CRACK. I heard something snap behind me and then a loud thud. I turned around and was completely confused for a second. I was still holding the handle of my suitcase, but the suitcase itself? On the ground. The metal rods inside the extendable handle had completely broken and were lying in pieces around it. It looked like my poor suitcase had exploded.

I just stood there, totally shocked. My friends quickly helped me pick everything up, but there was no saving the suitcase handle. The metal rods were sticking out and I couldn´t push them back in. So from that point on, I had to drag my heavy suitcase by the smaller handle on top of the suitcase. And then… I saw it. A hill. Not even a big one, but in that moment, it looked like Everest. My friends told me to go first, probably to make sure I survived the climb with my broken suitcase. It was also extremely hot. I must have looked like a turtle dragging a rock uphill. By the time I made it to the top. I was sweaty, tired and 100% done with the day. I sat down on a bench and sent a photo of the damage to my parents. My mum was, of course, worried. My dad? His reaction: "Opaaa, that is going to be fun!"

Thanks, dad.

Anyway, that is how my Erasmus+ experience in Barcelona started. Definitely unforgettable.