Jaden Taylor breathed a sigh of relief upon returning to the US after a 12-hour flight that took him to leave Shanghai, ending an "adventure" in China.

Taylor removed the mask, smiling at the customs officer holding a thumb up to him at Los Angeles International Airport, California in the morning of 2/2. For Taylor, the gesture of the employee was more significant than the 12-hour flight leaving Shanghai.

Taylor was among the last group of Americans to be evacuated from China after a new outbreak of coronary pneumonia (nCoV) virus in the country. The easy passage through the security door surprised him.

"It was a bit strange that the airport staff didn't ask me anything. I was very lucky because I thought I was definitely sent to quarantine," Taylor said.

This high school alumnus in Portland, Oregon is one of thousands of international students studying exchange programs in China. However, after the outbreak of pneumonia, many international students like Taylor struggled to find a way to leave China.

The 17-year-old boy is the only American student in Anhui province, adjacent to Hubei, where pneumonia began. Bored with Portland's high school curriculum, Taylor cherished plans to learn Chinese and spend a year in China before going to college.

"I used to think it was an exciting adventure to be a complete stranger to me. I didn't know what to expect," said Taylor, an exchange student at the American Field Service (AFS). non-profit organizations on student exchange, international students), share.

The 17-year-old boy left for China last August and lived with a local family in the city of Wuhu. He plans to return to the US in June this year after finishing his studies.

He made several Chinese friends and tried new dishes like turtle meat and beef stomach. As US-China trade tensions escalated, Taylor could not even catch a taxi because she was American.

Taylor first found out about the corona virus in early January, when Chinese teachers emailed an announcement about an outbreak in Wuhan, the capital of neighboring Hubei province. On January 15, the AFS coordinator and Taylor's host asked him not to go out. "I was asked to stay in the house all day," he said.

On January 20, the corona virus spread to other countries, while China reported hundreds of infected people and the death toll increased from three to 17 in just a few days. Two days later, Christine Berardo, Taylor's grandmother, sent a WhatsApp message that she knew about the pneumonia epidemic and was concerned it might affect her plans to return home for the Chinese New Year. "This virus has appeared in my city so everyone is wearing a mask," he answered her message.

On January 23, Wuhan City was placed under a blockade and completely closed. "I saw the image of the city being closed and people could not leave Wuhan," Taylor recalled, saying he was starting to get nervous.

Karin Berardo, Taylor's mother, could not help but feel nervous but did not want to reveal that to her child. In a conversation on WhatsApp, she told her adventurous son, "take it as challenging and courageous". "He always wanted to conquer the world," Karin said.

Wuhu, located more than 480 km northeast of Wuhan, was not blockaded but still affected by the outbreak. Instead of celebrating the Chinese New Year with fireworks and festivals, people locked themselves in the house. Except for a few people trying to find food stock and masks, the streets here were deserted and the shelves were nearly clean. Taylor said people were wary of any coughing. The image of the city engulfed in fear began to haunt every night and made it difficult for him to sleep. "I was nervous and always imagined miscellaneous," he recalls.

Taylor's friends all contacted via Snapchat and WhatsApp because they were worried that staying in China at this time was too risky.

Not knowing what to do, Taylor could only watch the news on Reddit and wait for mail from the State Department. His Chinese friends share much of the information they get from domestic media. News about the disease seems to be getting worse every day.

Meanwhile in Washington, Taylor's mother contacted the AFS organization to get a handle on the situation. "They said they worked closely with AFS in Beijing and advised students there to stay indoors," Karin said.

On January 26, after learning that 56 million people were blockaded in China, Karin immediately contacted an AFS representative in New York to ask her son to return to the United States as soon as possible. The next day, they planned to "rescue" Taylor by flight taking off in Shanghai, about 350 km from Wuhu, but no one took Taylor there. "They said they could help him on the train but he had to find his own way to Shanghai airport," Karin said.

She feared that Taylor might be trapped in one of the largest cities in the world, where many cases of virus infection were recorded. But after discussion, we agreed to try this method. AFS will find someone to take Taylor to Nanjing, nearly 100 km from Wuhu, so he can find a way to board a plane from here to Shanghai.

Taylor booked an American Airline flight that was scheduled to take off on February 2, but by January 31, the airline announced it was canceling it because of a suspension in China. Taylor must reschedule the flight of China Eastern Airlines that takes off the same day.

Before leaving, Taylor sneaked out of the apartment to say goodbye to Chinese friends and took some pictures of the deserted city of Wuhu. As planned, Taylor was picked up at 3am but at 11pm that night, the landlord's son knocked on his door and the car was waiting outside.

Taylor's pickers fear they will be delayed if more routes are closed. Unexpectedly, some roads were closed and the driver had to change direction to the slip road.

"I was so stressed out and worried," Taylor wrote in the diary he wanted to use to record the final hours in China. It was about 11:30 pm on 1/2. "Everywhere was dark and there was only our car on the road. I had just removed the mask for 5 seconds when the driver shouted back," he wrote. At the checkpoints, the police asked for a stop to see if they were wearing masks or not and Taylor was constantly looking at body temperature.

Around 0:30 am on February 2, when they arrived at Nanjing Airport, the police requested a stop. People in medical protective gear suggested Taylor go out. They checked their body temperature once, twice and then three times. Each time they said his body temperature was too high.

Taylor wasn't sure what was going on but he found himself well. "I don't know what to do if they don't let me go to the airport," he said. Finally, a medical staff changed another thermometer and this time, Taylor's body temperature was at a safe level.

Four hours after their departure, they completed a nearly 100-kilometer journey and arrived at a deserted airport at 2am. When checking in to Shanghai three hours later, the airport staff told him that she could not check his luggage for the entire journey to Los Angeles because the flight could be canceled.

The employee wanted to know if he still wanted to go to Shanghai, but Taylor knew he couldn't turn around. When he boarded the plane to Los Angeles, he tried to sleep but failed. Taylor thought of the remaining 5 months of school being cut off which made him lose many opportunities.

At Los Angeles airport, Taylor stood at the checkpoint for visitors to the United States, removed the mask and waited for his turn. Taylor also carried the American Constitution in her pocket to learn about her rights in the event of a security outrun. But contrary to Taylor's guess, the security officer checked the passport and returned it without any questions.

"At other checkpoints, anyone wearing a mask or coming from China was asked where they used to go and why, but not me," Taylor said. Taylor's mother was waiting and clutching her son in his arms as he walked through the door to check. "Mom! I'm tired," he said.

He quickly put on his mask when he left the airport, but then realized he was no longer in the middle of the epidemic area. He removed the mask and hurried to the Chipotle store to get two bean and cheese burrito cakes. "This is heaven," Taylor said.