The beginning of the end:
Thanks to this virus, I've had so much taken away from me. First it started with Atticus. For us in Germany, we heard about Trumps travel ban on Thursday. That was when everything began to go really wrong. After school that day, Atticus came to find me and told me that he was going home, his program was being canceled. About 250 US students from his program in Germany were being sent home within the next couple days. My friends and I were determined to find him a place to stay for the rest of the exchange year but his parents wanted him to come home. So we, the exchange students, planned to meet after school on Friday as one last goodbye. But you know how coronavirus is, it likes to ruin things.
On Friday, we all had our plan to meet in the downtown area of Papenburg. However, after 2nd period, at 9:45, a teacher came into our class and told us that there was a student in our grade who had tested positive and we all needed to go home. I met with my friends in the cafeteria and we all were hanging around figuring what to do. I got a message from Philipp saying that my host mom was coming to pick us up from school and I couldn't walk around with my friends. During that 2nd period class, Gabi found out that she was going home for real. So as far as I knew, that day was gonna be my last time seeing both of them. So we all sat in the cafeteria crying and hugging each other. My host mom came, I hugged my friends for the last time, and I left.
After I got home, I went into my room to find a sweatshirt from Santi folded on my bed with a note that said "for you." I had previously asked him for a sweatshirt because you know me; I always need more sweatshirts. I went to Santi's room and he could see that I was upset so he gave me a hug. Getting the sweatshirt was bittersweet because the reason he gave it to me was because he was leaving the next day.
We went out for dinner that night to a Chinese food place. It was the same buffet restaurant that I had been to with the Feldts. We all ate way too much but had a good time. For some reason I thought it would be nice to sit in between the boys; that backfired. Once we left and were on our street, my host dad stopped and asked if we wanted to walk. I said yes, so the three of us got out and walked the rest of the way home. The sky was clear so I was able to see the stars and it was so nice. We got home, put on thicker jackets because it was cold, and went back outside to look at the stars. We walked a little while and then decided to lay down and look at the stars. It was a great moment. That night Santi and I were gonna stay up to watch Elite, a TV show, but I kept falling alseep so it didn't work well. But we had fun trying.
Saturday, March 14th:
A sad day. We got up, had breakfast, drove to Leer, and said goodbye to Santi. He and his friends were scheduled to go on a Germany trip with their program, but because of coronavirus it was canceled and they were just going home. So we stood and watched their train pull away. I cried a little once they were gone because I was sad to see him leave but I was also still upset about Atticus and Gabi. Thankfully, Atticus was going through Leer that day on his way to the airport. I told my host family that he would be there soon so we waited and walked around the city. When Atticus came, he had to wait for his next train so I got to sit and talk to him one last time. Knowing that it really was the last time was super sad. He gave me a letter, I gave him a hug, told him to be safe, and left with my host family.
When we got home, I went into my room, put on the sweatshirt from Santi, read the letter that Atticus wrote for me, and cried. Later that night, we went into quarantine. Remember that kid in my school that had coronavirus? Well he wasn't in my class, but he had spread it to a total of 4 kids and 1 teacher. Despite having no contact with any of them, my whole host family and I were put on lockdown. They told us that we weren't allowed to leave our house until a week from that Wednesday and we had to take our temperature two times per day. I wasn't even allowed to go for a walk or run. But I am wrote much of this from my backyard where I was able to sit in the sun. I love the sun.
Exchange students:
In my opinion, exchange students are one of the groups that's getting hit hardest by all this. It pains me to see how many other people are suffering, but I am experiencing it as an exchange student, which is probably why I feel most for this group. Coronavirus has ruined so much for so many of us. It started with my trip to Rome with my school; that was postponed until November when I will no longer be here. Next, my Eurotour with Rotary was canceled. We knew it was coming because many other districts had their tours canceled. Finally, it was the going home for many of us. And now, that list of exchange students going home includes myself.
My mom texted me a week ago and said "I'm going to try booking you a ticket home." Now, that would have been terrible news for me but many of my friends had already left. I was debating whether or not I wanted to return home so I was really thankful she made the decision for me. I felt like staying here would have been pointless because who knows when this'll all clear up and I'll be able to go places. Since I was in quarantine until yesterday, she got me on the earliest flight possible (which got delayed), so I leave from the Amsterdam airport at 3:20 tomorrow.
In the area, there have been over 30 students that have already left to go home. I'm the last one because of this quarantine that I was in. Zoe, my other host family's daughter, and Rebecca, my current host family's daughter, have both returned already. From my home Rotary district, many of us are going home as well. A few people are staying but with the situation as bad as it is, it's hard to know what will happen next. My parents and I were fearful that any longer and many countries would shut their borders; we still are afraid of that.
Saying so long///Additional thoughts:
Last night, I went with my host parents to the Feldts house. So I got to see all of them and Gabi one last time. It was really sad because after spending so much time with the Feldts, they really were like another family to me. When we were hugging and saying goodbye, a few of us girls (I won't name names) got choked up. I told Ulla that her and the family always had a home in Colorado if they ever came to visit, and I urged them to visit too. I gave Noelle a big hug too because she wasn't just my host sister, she was my friend too. I gave Gabi a big hug and we pinky promised to visit each other. Her to Colorado where we can ski together, and me to her island in Brazil where we can surf together. Unfortunately, since I leave tomorrow, I wasn't able to see Paulina and say goodbye properly. I left her a sweatshirt of mine that she really liked and a letter that Philipp said he would give to her once school starts again (they go to school until July so there's a good chance they will go back). Losing all of my friends so quickly was heartbreaking because it's so sad to go from seeing people every day-- people you call your second family-- to not knowing if you'll ever all be together again. But I still talk to all of them and I'm thankful for the time we had together.
And now my thoughts on this virus. As everyone can probably tell, I think this sucks. So many people have lost so much and so many people will continue to lose so much. I talked mostly about how exchange students are really getting a bad end of all of this, but I'm really hoping that things get better for other people as well. I feel for all the high school seniors who are missing out on so much. I feel for people stuck in other countries or places that aren't their homes. I feel for the people losing their jobs and the people who might soon lose everything they've worked for. I feel for the people living in fear because they are at a higher risk of dying if they contract this virus. I've tried blocking a lot of that out because there's nothing I can do about it and it just makes me sad to think about all the people suffering. I really hope that this begins to turn around and get better so maybe, eventually, things can go back to normal again. If you're having a hard time because of this virus, I really hope things get better for you soon. <3
A Jew joke to lighten the mood: Passover is coming up and coronavirus is just a reminder. there. that's the joke. For those of you who are still confused, Passover is the celebration of the Jews' exodus from Egypt. Before the Jews were permitted to go, God reigned terror on Egypt with 10 plagues to show the Pharaoh that the Jews should be freed. But now, there's 11 plagues.
March picture gallery:
From when Santi and I walked around after school, from when I said goodbye to Atticus, before we left the house to drop Santi off, tacos that Philipp and I made for dinner a few nights ago, a bunch of times it was actually pretty outside
Santi:
After he made fun of what I wrote about him on my last post, I thought I'd write a little more about him. I love him, but I didn't always like him. Jut like how you feel about family. Very quickly after I switched houses, he felt like family; an annoying brother to be exact. We spent a lot of time together and we liked to tease each other. Often times, I would be in my room alone, and he would come in with his laptop or phone, sit down at my desk, and just do his own thing. He made TikTok videos with me and that is now our main form of communication. We just send each other videos.
He was always willing to go on walks with me when the weather was nice and he's the only other person I met here that enjoyed just standing in the sun and absorbing it. We both missed the sun so much. A couple days before he left, we went on a walk, and we would often sit in the sun, but this time we just layed on the ground and looked at the clouds because they were pretty. He teased me a lot but I teased him right back. If you can't tell, I miss him a little bit. He gave good hugs whenever I was upset or sad. But he agreed to visit me and I'll visit him in Paraguay because I have a lot of friends in South America now. One day I'm going to make a big trip out of it and see everyone.
Santi, I hope you're happy with this section about you. I miss you a little. I don't want any complains about this section please and thank you. <3