After traveling 3,644 miles from her home in Germany, exchange student Amelie Lopez was excited to arrive in Westford. Lopez would have been spending a whole year in America with the Granger family and attending WA as a junior. Unfortunately, her stay in America is cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Lopez doesn’t have an exact date for when she’ll be traveling back to her home near Hanover, Germany but it will be at some point in the next few weeks.

Many people had plans for the 2020 year, like traveling or other events, but like Lopez, the Corona virus has stopped those things from happening. Lopez is sad her trip is cut short and she can’t finish out the year here, as well as visit some places she had planned to go.

“I didn’t get to do a lot of the things that I was planning on doing. I wanted to go to Washington DC, do track, go to cotil and prom, and other things,” Lopez said.

Though she is devastated that her experience here has been shortened, Lopez understands the precautions that need to be taken. As many students and teachers were, Lopez was hopeful that everyone could return to WA and finish the school year. However, with school officially canceled for the year and Lopez saw no other choice but to leave now.

“I’m leaving now because I still had hope in March that we would go back to school and get to [go to] prom and have a fun summer,” Lopez said.

Lopez’s family was also supposed to come visit her this summer so they could go to places like California. However, their plans are on hold for now to ensure everyone’s safety.

“I think it’s best for me and my family that I come home now, especially since we are not going back to school and there is no end in sight,” Lopez said.

Germany is also experiencing the COVID-19 outbreak but the school year Lopez’s school doesn’t end until July, so her classmates and she may be allowed to go back in June.

Like everyone else, Lopez and her host family have been trying to find stuff to do during this time. To keep herself occupied over the last month or so, Lopez has been sleeping in, doing some school work, and exercising.

Lopez has made many friends here in Westford that she hopes to keep in contact with, and hopefully visit next year when COVID-19 is no longer an issue.

“I hope I get to come back with my family next year in the summer,” Lopez said.