TULSA, Okla. — Students studying on the University of Oklahoma campus in Arezzo, Italy were told on Monday to return to the United States due to growing concerns over the coronavirus.
The students arrived Jan. 13 and were scheduled to stay in Italy until May 9.
Catherine Limekiller was one of the 30 American OU students in Italy. She was studying World War II, Italian film, Italian literacy and Italian art history.
“I was supposed to be there for another two more months," Limekiller said. "They just kind of said for the betterment of our safety and our ability to come home just to pull the plug on it."
Students abroad stayed on campus in Arezzo, Italy which is about 45 minutes from Florence, Italy. While there, students traveled to Ovieto, Burano, Florence, Sienna, and Venice.
Those places were not hot spots while students were there.
“I didn’t see it being as bad as everyone was portraying it to be because I was there and everything was normal," Limekiller said. “I mean, we were in Venice and two weeks later it became restricted. It was kind of like 'woah.' We were just there but that was all."
Limkiller took over three flights to get back home to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“I went from Florence to Paris, then Paris to Detroit, then Detroit to Dallas, and then just drove up," Limkiller said. “I was never checked from Italy. I never got the forehead thing. Some of my friends did. So, I think it just depends on what airport."
Limekiller says Just about all of her classmates have landed back in America and despite some of them being tested and being given the okay, they will all still be at least "self" quarantined.
"We have to self quarantine because that was an OU rule when you come back, you couldn’t come to the campus for 14 days," Limekiller said.
Limekiller and the other study abroad students will finish the remainder of their classes online and say they'll see some tours through FaceTime.
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