West Columbus students stuck in Europe

CERRO GORDO, NC (WWAY) — The ash cloud from the volcano in Iceland has stranded a group of West Columbus High School students in Denmark. We talked with some of the students via Skype.

Most of the 12 students have never even been out of the country, and now they’re stuck in Europe for an extra nine days. They signed up for an 11-day study abroad program at a school in Denmark. Never did they think their trip would actually be 20 days.

The kids say they’re homesick, but there has been an upside to their extended vacation.

“I’m not saying I’m happy it happened, but I’m glad that we all got close because of it, and it’s really been kinda fun,” Kelli Waddell said.

The extended stay has also given them more time to be a tourist.

“We’ve been doing a lot of sightseeing, going around Copenhagen looking at the different museums and things, and we spend a lot of time playing card games, you know spending time with each other,” Brooke Andrews said.

The kids and their teachers have been trying to find free ways to have fun. They raised $15,000 for the trip, but when the trip ran long, they ran out of cash. The extra time abroad is costing the county more than $1,000 a day.