This was my first trip outside of Portugal — and with friends! The idea was to spend New Year’s Eve from 2022 to 2023 in the Netherlands, at Wlad’s place. It was an intense seven-day trip across four countries.

I started the journey with Lucas. We spent Christmas Eve at the Porto airport, boarding our flight to the first destination: Luxembourg. There, I met Almir, who was eager to show us a bit of his country. We spent the whole day exploring, and afterward, headed straight to Brussels, Belgium. We stayed the night in a hostel, and the next day, we walked around visiting some of the city’s main sights. It’s a very old city with amazing architecture. And of course, we couldn’t miss it: we tried several beers at the famous Delirium Bar.

Next, we headed to Eindhoven, in the Netherlands — that’s where the whole group met up at Wladmir’s house. Hudson and Vitão came from France, Maurice from Germany, Carlos joined us from Portugal, and Jeff stayed with us for a night.

Oh, I forget — before Carlos and Maurice arrived, we made a quick round trip to Amsterdam. And, honestly, there are some memories from that trip I’d rather keep just to myself haha!

But not everything was joy… One day before New Year’s Eve, I got the news that my grandmother had passed away in Brazil. It hit me hard. I was really sad, especially because I was about to return to Brazil shortly after. Still, that day we had a plan: travel to Düsseldorf, Germany, to visit some friends we had met back in Portugal during our Erasmus exchange. Even with a heavy heart, I tried to enjoy the moment. It was really good to reconnect with people who were part of the beginning of my journey away from home.

We returned to Eindhoven the next day and started getting ready for the New Year’s celebration. That night, with everything I had experienced, I found myself reflecting on the path that had brought me there. It was an intense trip — full of emotions, connections, and learning.