The biggest real-life Spanish drama I have ever experienced

Posted On August 18, 2023

To fully comprehend this post, you first need to read the first chapter of how it all started – click HERE.

A year has passed from my mind-blowing trip to Jaca. I was confident on not writing down the continuation of this story, cause what happened next made me feel confused and disappointed. I needed some time to reflect on what had happened and just let it dissolve gradually to become emotionally distant.

After I got back to Estonia in August last year, I was in this weird bubble – I was physically at home, but my mind was still in Jaca with the people I had met. This lasted for about a month or two. Also, to my surprise we kept talking, a lot, everyday. We chatted in our group chat, but also privately. By the end of August we had decided to meet again in December for Christmas holiday, so I bought my flight tickets to Barcelona.

These four months seemed like forever long. In the meanwhile we booked an apartment for our stay. It was a big place in the outskirts of Barcelona (cause BCN is extremely expensive when it comes to accommodation), it had three bedrooms, a kitchen and a living room. I had a private room, Madelief (Netherlands) and Susmita (Spain) were supposed to share a double bedroom and Florian (Belgium) and Chris (USA) the third one.

I think it was in November when Chris asked in our group chat if it would be okay with us if a good (female) friend of his would stay with us for two nights and that she could sleep in the living room. Honestly, I didn’t like this idea at all. I mean, we had everything planned and now he randomly asks if another person can live with us. Maybe I want to invite my friends too… Anyway, Chris assured that she was a nice girl and that Madelief and Susmita had already met her in Zaragoza in the summer and they liked her too. Plus, Madelief and Susmita didn’t have anything against it. Nevertheless, I still had to cause drama, cause I thought this idea was stupid and not considerate to others. I mean, Chris had already made the arrangements with his friend and he just briefly communicated his plans to us. I then told them that I could find another place, that I didn’t want to stay with a random person etc, but eventually I was like, okay, I was just joking, it is fine by me. At least he deserved a bit of drama for his tactless behaviour (this is exactly what caused the coming chaos in Barcelona).

On a side note, to understand the story a bit better, I need to rewind back to Jaca and mention that Susmita and Chris had a fling. Just a two-week hook-up. However, I know that Susmita was pretty into him and after Jaca they even sent each other letters by post from Spain to America.

I arrived to Barcelona on the 22nd of December, I was the first one to arrive. On the same day Florian was supposed to get there too, but the night before he wrote me that his horse had died and he needed time to mourn him. Maybe he would buy a ticket in a few days. It seemed like a big change of plans and I was worried that he wouldn’t even get the tickets as it was almost Christmas and everything was sold out.

I was in the apartment already making dinner plans with another friend who lives in Barcelona when I got a message from Florian saying that he would arrive in half an hour. I was confused. Once he arrived he told me that he wanted to surprise me and yes, there were some issues back at home, but nothing serious. I thought to myself, okay, what a strange way to surprise someone, but whatever.

It was a bit strange and awkward to meet again. Moreover, Florian had been working in Italy for the past few months and his Spanish was awful, so we switched to English. We went to the city to have dinner together. In the beginning it was exciting and we talked a lot, but as the hours passed there were more and more pauses in our conversation and when we were walking back to our apartment at night we were barely talking. It was weird. Florian was super talkative on Whatsapp, writing long messages, telling me about his feelings, thoughts, everything that was happening in his life. And once we met, it was all gone, he was closed in real life and it made me feel uncomfortable and quiet too. Also, his drinking in Jaca never bothered me, cause we didn’t spend that much time together and if we did, it was mostly with a group of people. However, it did annoy me in Barcelona. And you should know, he drinks a lot, a lot! If you think that you drink a lot, then he drinks more. He was wasted basically every day and when we went back to our place after being out all day, having drinks etc, then every night, when we had arrived back to our building to go in, he would say he still needed some time alone and get more drinks (even though he was already dead drunk). This also happened the first night we were alone. I went to sleep and he stayed out getting more alcohol down his throat.

To jump ahead a few days, I want to describe an incident that occurred mainly due to Florian’s addiction to booze. We went out together and at some point Florian was so drunk that he would just lie on the sofa, half asleep. A security guy came and told him that the is not allowed to sleep in a bar. He then tried to sit up. Later on he went out to smoke and as we were in the old town it was prohibited to make any kind of noise on the streets. A security guy walked up to him and asked him to keep his voice down. It happened several times as Florian was wasted and taking orders was complicated for him. A few moments passed when the security guy had to calm him down again and this is when Florian got angry and started yelling: “Who do you think you are? Do you think you are so powerful just because you are a security guy? You can not tell me what to do!” Me and Susmita felt embarrassed and we both apologized to the security guy. He was still nice, but told us that Florian could not go in again and that he must leave immediately. We went back to the bar, told everyone that we had to go now and took Florian’s things too. In the meanwhile he kept complaining and was just stumbling around. All in all, our night was ruined by a 30-year-old who handled alcohol like a teenager.

On the second day Susmita and Madelief arrived. I was super happy to meet them again. We had breakfast together and walked around Barcelona. In the evening we were in the apartment waiting for Chris. He arrived from San Francisco after a long flight. The fireworks between Chris and Susmita were let off right when they saw each other. Of course, in the beginning they were a bit shy, but let’s just say that Madelief never shared a room with Susmita.

Anyway, I don’t remember when it exactly was, but at some point, I learned that the girl that Chris had invited to stay with us, was his ex-girlfriend. I also found out that they had been in a relationship for a couple of years and were very much in love until the world-wide pandemic separated them. Before she arrived (her name is Virgina) I remember me and Madelief talking to Chris asking him if that was such a good idea after all, but he assured that everything was fine, they were just friends and even Susmita had told him that she was totally fine with it. I mean, there was nothing for me to do anyway. I could just stay and enjoy the show.

Virgina arrived on our third day in Barcelona. We were out having dinner and the moment she sat down at our table, there were looks and uncomfortable tension in the air. She was beautiful and very fit just like Chris. I mean, she was also very friendly and a nice person in general. She is not the one to blame.

The following days it was obvious that Chris was mostly spending time with Virginia only. We even tried to plan activities together, but this never happened as no one else (Chris, Virginia and Florian) seemed to be interested. Also, Chris’ story changed a lot after Virginia arrived. On the first day he told Susmita how much he had missed her and how special she was to him blah, blah, blah. But just after Virginia had arrived, he told me that they are not actually a couple (with Susmita), he doesn’t want to put a label on it, and that basically Susmita is just for having fun and she knows it too and this is how she wants it too. I didn’t believe it at all, cause I saw how devastated Susmita was. She was crying and heartbroken, but she didn’t say anything to Chris, cause she thought she didn’t have the right to do it. I mean, after all, they were not a thing… For me it was like next level acting what Susmita pulled off the following days – she was completely calm and friendly with Chris as if nothing had ever bothered her, but when alone with us (me and Madelief), she was unhappy and furious at the same time. It really annoyed me that she didn’t have the balls to mention anything to Chris. I mean, how can anyone put up with something like this? Also, for Chris everything seemed just fine, cause no one said anything and he was just spending time with his ex.

So, that you would understand a bit better how ridiculous this situation got, let me describe the next scene for you. If I remember correctly, it was the second night after Virginia had arrived. It was around three in the morning, everyone were sleeping and I stepped out from my room to go to the toilet and as soon as I opened the door of my room, I heard a loud bang. Chris had jumped to the floor from the sofa on which Virginia was sleeping (the living room was in the middle of the apartment) and all he said was: “Oh shit, I thought it was Susmita, you scared me, Heleriin!” (followed by awkward silence…).

On Viriginia’s last night with us, we went out together, had some tapas and drinks. Chris and Virginia got home after everyone else. They started talking in the living room (which was in the middle of the apartment!) and oh, I didn’t mention that in this building the walls were paper thin. I could hear everything, word by word, when Madelief was talking to her family or when the neighbours were yelling at their children. So when Chris and Virginia started talking in the living room, everyone else could hear them too, word by word. They discussed their break-up, the problems they had had and many other things. At some point I could hear kissing and this is when Susmita wrote me on Whatsapp if I could hear it too. Well, I had had enough and this is when I fell asleep. Only God knows what happened next. Susmita told me the next day that the kissing continued and then later on someone had a shower. I guess you can draw your own conclusions here. And Susmita carried on with her super friendly act. I mean, really?

Then arrived the last day of our stay and Florian insisted on going to a very good Mexican place. While we were on our way there, walking and talking and changing metros, me and the girls started talking about the fact that Virgina had stayed with us for free for three nights and if she should also pay her part. I didn’t really care, I mean, she had already left and this apartment was very cheap to share between five people. But as Susmita (especially her) and Madelief were afraid to bring up this topic with the guys, I suggested I would do it, I didn’t care.

So, we arrived to this Mexican place, first of all, it was in a mall, so not very authentic, surrounded by shops. At this point I felt a bit tired of everyone. We had spent 6 days together. I also went for walks alone to have some me time, but still. I remember that I sat down at the top of the table, so that no one could sit next to me, and it was just then when Madelief squeezed in close to me saying “Oh, you’re all alone here.” I could feel my blood pressure going up, but I forced myself to stay calm and I told her nicely: “Please, at the moment I need some space.” No questions asked, she understood me perfectly and moved to the other side of the table.

When we had finished our lunch, I decided to raise the money issue. And you should know that I am incapable of beating around the bush and making any kind of small talk. I hate it, it is useless and wastes everyone’s time. So, maybe I came on strong and was a bit too direct, I don’t know. But I started the conversation with the next sentence: “So, guys, there is something we need to discuss. Virgina stayed with us for three nights and didn’t pay a dime, we (hoping for Madelief and Susmita to back me up) think it is unfair and I just wanted to bring it up to see how you feel about this.” Right after this was said a loud yelling followed, mostly by Florian. I think that in the blink of an eye his face was completely red and he was furious. He shouted something like: “What is wrong with you Heleriin? She is gone and why do you talk about it now? It is not even like she stayed in a super comfortable individual room, she had to sleep in the middle of our apartment, on a random sofa!” The next moment I saw Madelief’s face, she looked scared and tried to say something to calm him down. Susmita was sitting there, again, not saying a word, nothing at all. Then Chris, of course, sided with Florian and called me greedy. I was stunned by all this and actually in my head I was thinking, haha, it is so funny, a bit of drama always saves the day. Anyway, I also tried to say that I just wanted to talk about it and I don’t care about the money, if you all think she should not pay, then so be it. But the boys were still raging and Madelief started crying. Florian just walked away and Chris shouted: “I can pay you whatever you want, whatever you think she owes you!” and also walked away. It all left me speechless and I decided to take off too. Fuck those idiots!

What pissed me off in this situation was the fact that I had to take all the yelling from the guys and the girls were just sitting there, especially Susmita who brought this question up in the first place. I was really fed up with Susmita’s behaviour in general. Making a nice face this whole time and not saying a word about how she actually felt. Hugging and holding hands with Chris and then crying and looking shattered when alone with us. That is just immature. Moreover, in the end I was called the drama queen of the group and all the conflicts and loud discussions happened because of me. Haha! I mean, I was the only one to point out issues in this ridiculousness.

The very last night back in the apartment we had dinner together and tried to finish as much food as possible. It was weird and the air was thick. Chris asked me if everything was okay between us, I said yes, sure. At least we were polite to each other. Florian, on the other hand, didn’t share a word with me.

The next morning we had our last breakfast together. Everyone tried to be friendly and talkative. However, Florian was still not talking to me at all. When we said our goodbyes, it felt like Florian didn’t even want to hug me. I mean, I did it, just to be polite and not act as a child. While hugging he told everyone how nice it had been and that maybe they would meet again in the summer in Spain blah, blah… He didn’t tell me anything, still, and the hug was something very fast and cold. Then, Florian left to catch his flight which he missed as he had made a mistake with the date. This is how absent-minded he was.

I need to point out that Florian had thought I was a perfect woman. He told me this the first night in Barcelona. And after everything he learned about me, he was disappointed that he was wrong. That is just hilarious. First of all, how can you think that someone is perfect based on some days spent together in the company of other people in Jaca? And second of all, how can you think that perfect people exist? I am sure that by the end of this trip it must have been very frustrating for him to realise how imperfect I was. Haha!

It has been a year since our trip to Jaca and another eight months have passed since our trip to Barcelona in December. I met with Madelief in Amsterdam in April and we have been talking a bit on Whatsapp. I have not spoken to neither Chris nor Florian since the December trip. In February I talked to Susmita. She told me she felt completely stupid about all this, the way she had been fooled and manipulated and that Chris and she never spoke again. Well, at least she understood that! Well done! I was supposed to meet with Susmita in July in Spain, but she never wrote to me, so this didn’t happen.

What can I say to finally put an end to this story? I must say it was an interesting experience getting to know all these people from different parts of the world and sharing an apartment with them for a week. It definitely felt like one of those non-educational, trashy reality tv shows. It is also strange how wrong the first impressions can be and how people act when they know they only have a week or two together. They say such nice things to each other, they promise to keep in contact, stay friends forever, love each other and then they share tears when saying goodbye, but in the end, those words are all meaningless, there are no actions behind these words and over time you move on and get emotionally distant, just like I did. However, I definitely enjoyed this adventure and would not change a thing. It was funny and dramatic!