Students Ella Majerus and Anna Smith from Benedictine College were quarantined in Ella’s family’s basement for 14 days after cutting short their study abroad semester in Seville, Spain.
From Mar. 14 to Mar. 27, Majerus and Smith spent time in quarantine by keeping busy with books, gifts from friends, painting, schoolwork, and occasional visits from friends who sat at the top of the stairs.
While the two were in Spain, Majerus’ phone was pinging at 3am due to her parents using Find My Friends to alert her. Once she got on the phone with her parents, she knew that it was time to leave Spain.
“My phone started pinging at 3am, so I wake up and they call me,” Majerus states, “I don’t even say hi, I just say ‘It’s time to go isn’t it?’’
After seeing the evacuations in Italy, Majerus knew that it was only a matter of time before they would have to leave Spain.
According to Smith, she was conflicted on making the right decision to stay or leave Spain, although she noted that she did not really have a choice.
“It was just really stressful because I felt like I had a decision to make even though I really didn’t. I didn’t want to do the wrong thing,” Smith expresses.
Smith explains her quick mind shift from denial to acceptance and understanding during her travel back to the states.
“It was really hard at first to accept it. That morning, and that day until we got on the plane to leave felt emotional. It was hard, but once we were on the flight and we were returning, we knew it was the right thing,” Smith says.
Both Smith and Majerus documented their quarantine stay in photos pictured in the gallery below.
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Hear more about their story by watching part of their interview below. Also, take a look at some images Majerus and Smith provided to see what their daily life in quarantine looked like.
