COVID-19 cuts foreign exchange students’ trips to U.S.

SPRINGBORO — While everyone is being asked to limit their travel and stay home to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, several students studying abroad in the Miami Valley found out this weekend their program has come to an end. That means they will soon have to travel back home to their countries.

“I’m sad. I don’t want to go home, but I don’t have any other choice,” Pierre Bouveret said.

Pierre is from France but has been staying with the Kriegelstein family in Springboro through a study abroad program called Youth for Understanding. For the past seven months, Pierre has been learning what is it like to live and study in the U.S. while making new friends.

“It was cool to experience homecoming, high school, everything like the movies that we see,” Pierre said.

Pierre was originally scheduled to go home in June, but this weekend he and the Kriegelstein family found out he has to fly back to France this Wednesday.

“You have that time, and you treasure that time, you make these memories and we had plans to do things until he left,” Ann Kriegelstein, Pierre’s host mom, said.

The program ending early doesn’t affect only Pierre. Ann said there are several other exchange students in the same program in the Miami Valley who also must leave the U.S. to go back to their home countries this week.

Pierre said he has been in contact with his family, who is under much tighter restrictions than the U.S. right now.

“Everything is closed. They can’t go outside. They have to go outside one time per week to the grocery. One person per family, so yeah – that’s going to be fun,” he said.

Pierre is now spending his time with the Kriegelstein family and friends, saying his goodbyes, before making the 4,000 mile journey home.

Ann said once it is safe to travel again, she and her family plan to go to Europe to visit Pierre and all the other foreign exchange students who have lived with them over the years.