Full House Again

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For most of those couples, the only really hard part is seeing their student off. But saying goodbye is rarely the end. Calls, e-mails and even visits continue for years after. When Larilyn Carpenter celebrated her birthday this August, she was showered with messages — from Mareika in Germany, Luciano and Omar in Brazil and Martin in Slovakia. Last year she and her husband Greg, 57, a retired educator, traveled all over Brazil, visiting Valentin in Cabofrio, Luciano in Curitiba, Carlos in Florianopolis and Omar in Chapeco.

As for Gail and Richard Marshall, their last two times as hosts felt so perfect that the Marshalls feared that they could never repeat the experience. So they decided not to be hosts this year. But as fall approached, they were reconsidering. "Now," Gail says wistfully, "we really feel like empty nesters."