CRANBERRY TWP — Chris and Bob Nelson had their own small-scale international conference in Vienna in May.

To celebrate Bob’s 75th birthday, the Nelsons traveled to the Austrian city and reunited with four of the five foreign exchange students they’ve hosted since 2000.

Joining the Nelsons were Ana Jovanovic of Serbia, Irene Fernandez of Spain, Clara Porwoll of Germany and Martina Klein of Slovakia. The only no-show was Ania Sangiorgi of Russia, who had given birth to her second child in February.

Chris Nelson said she and her husband started hosting teens through the International Student Exchange when they were living in Florida.

When the Nelsons moved to Cranberry Township in 2008, the last three teens, Ana (2013-2014), Irene (2011-2012) and Clara (2009-2010), all attended Seneca Valley High School.

Although, said Chris, the first two exchange students “thought they had died and gone to heaven because we lived near Orlando and had annual Disney passes. We’d go there for fireworks or for dinner.”

But the three who lived with the Nelsons in Cranberry Township were able to experience Pittsburgh sights including Pirates, Penguins and Steelers games, PPG Place at Christmas and museums.

And the exchange students traveled with the Nelsons when they went to Disney World, New York and Boston, among other destinations.

But contact with the students didn’t end when they returned to their home countries.

“We keep in constant touch with all our exchange ‘daughters,’” said Chris.

“We use What’s App. It’s just like sending an e-mail. We send it as a group,” she said.

“We Skype with a few of them, too,” said Bob. “We send pictures back and forth.”

“Ana is the worst one. She’s a procrastinator,” said Chris. “But we keep in regular touch.”

And it’s not just keeping in touch electronically, the Nelsons said.

Clara returned to visit them in 2011. And the Nelsons visited their first exchange student, Martina Klein, in Slovakia in 2003, met her in Ireland in 2006 and rendezvoused again in 2010 in Regensburg, Germany, where the Nelsons were visiting Clara.

The only exchange student the Nelsons haven’t seen physically since she lived with them in Florida in 2001-2002 is Ania Sangiorgi of Russia.

Keeping in touch is made easier because all the students are all proficient in English, Chris said.

“All the girls were exceptional students,” she said.

She said for some their experiences in the United States changed their lives.

“Irene took TV production as an elective (at Seneca Valley) and now that is what she is majoring in,” said Chris. “And she never would have considered that because it is not available in her country.”

“Ana took art and drawing classes, which reinforced her decision to study architecture,” Chris said.

She will be attending university in Belgrade, Serbia, this fall as an architecture major.

Clara is studying to be a doctor in Düsseldorf, Germany,

“Through a friend of mine whose sister-in-law works at Allegheny General Hospital, she was able to attend a brain surgery at the hospital,” said Chris.

“I thought she would watch it from the seats above, but she came in and stood right next to the doctor. I’m glad she was able to hold her own,” she said.

Clara belonged to the St. Ferdinand Roman Catholic Church youth group.

Because confirmation comes at a later age in Germany, Chris said, “Clara had her confirmation in the morning, had her hair done in the afternoon and went to the prom at night.”

She said Ana, Irene and Clara all bought their prom dresses at the Cranberry United Presbyterian Church’s prom dress sale for $20 each and then re-donated the dresses so they wouldn’t have to pack them to take home.

Bob and Chris both said Ana might have been their last exchange student.

Bob said, “Because they are not allowed to drive, I have to take them everywhere.”

“This might be it. It’s not normal for people our age to have a 16-year-old in the house,” said Chris.

“Five is a good, round number,” she said, adding, “Now we are going to go visit them and tour those countries.”