SAI Alums, Megan Forbes and Hannah Lowder, returned to Barcelona this summer after their Spring 2020 semester was cut short due to COVID-19. They sent us a collection of film photos from their trip and we’ve been obsessing over them ever since! Our Barcelona Program Coordinator also connected them with another student, Mason Dahl, who happened to be back visiting after his Fall 2019 semester. It’s a special experience to be able to return to Europe with friends you made during your time abroad (and to get the opportunity to connect with SAI students from other terms)! You can find their photos below:

Photos from Megan Forbes

“I decided to study abroad with SAI Programs because I had a friend that studied with SAI in Florence and she had the best experience ever. I wanted a program that would keep me engaged with my city and immersed in the culture and SAI has done exactly that through workshops, day trips, and activities. Before coming to Barcelona, I was nervous about making the perfect friend group and planning the best trips. Now that I’m here, I realized that everyone who studies abroad wants to make friends and go places, and it’s not hard to find your people and travel. I lost my phone the first week, so for a while, I was without one in a foreign city. Soon, I became more in touch with Barcelona and my surroundings, I felt more comfortable being alone and going places, and I wasn’t missing my phone much (minus GPS). I now realize that living in a foreign country isn’t scary and now is my time to travel with my friends. I also know now that I will 100% be back, I know how much it really costs to travel, little tricks to save money and how to make the most of limited time abroad. Barcelona really surprised me. It’s very cool and cosmopolitan, you can feel the influence all of the European cultures have had on this Catalonian city. I’ve really enjoyed finding hidden corners of the city and finding new places that feel like mine when I’m not at home.”

– Quote from Hannah Lowder, Spring 2020

Photos from Mason Dahl

Megan was a Spring 2020 Barcelona student from Virginia Commonwealth University, Hannah was a Spring 2020 Barcelona student from the University of South Carolina, and Mason was a Fall 2019 Barcelona student from Virginia Commonwealth University.