With a lot of help, I was able to pack everything I needed for Spain in a carry-on suitcase. As I boarded the airport bus at Lionel-Groulx metro station in Montreal, I realized that spending three years telling myself and others that I’d someday be doing a residency in Spain was one thing, but actually going was quite another.

The Carry-on is a record of the moment I arrived at Can Serrat and opened up my bag on the bed in my assigned garden view room.