Arriving in Nebraska just weeks ago, Daniela Prauliņa is already learning to navigate a new culture, a different school system and the daily life of American students. Back home in Latvia, mornings were quiet, schools were smaller and routines were predictable. Now, she navigates a world of new classrooms, unfamiliar traditions and friends she’s only just met, learning what it means to live between two worlds at once.
“It was difficult thinking, listening and talking in English…I’ve gotten used to it,” Prauliņa said.
She admitted that some cultural differences are still tricky.
“I don’t like small talk because I’m not used to it,” she said. “So I kind of get confused in the moment, and I’m, like, what am I supposed to answer?”
Prauliņa came to the U.S. through a competitive government scholarship program, called Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX), which included essays, interviews and school evaluations. The program offers students the opportunity to live in a new culture, attend an American high school and experience daily life far from home.
Outside of the U.S., Prauliņa has already traveled to Lithuania, Estonia, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Iceland, which she calls her favorite. She describes her travels as a chance to experience new places, but she says the U.S. has a unique energy and openness she hasn’t experienced elsewhere.
“I like to say everything is so American. That’s kind of my motto,” Prauliņa said. Despite the differences, she felt welcomed and mentioned the warmth and friendliness of the people around her as she spent her first weeks in Nebraska.
Languages have always been a major part of her life. Prauliņa speaks Latvian, English and some Russian. Back home in Latvia, Prauliņa has been taught English since first grade. Switching between languages, she said, is “like a switch in your brain,” moving quickly from one language to another depending on the situation.
Despite the challenges, she has adopted new routines and seized new opportunities. Prauliņa plans to join the One Act crew, take pottery and journalism, and recently tried pickleball with her host family.
“I want to be in the high school environment because it’s so different,” she said.
The differences between American and Latvian schools stand out academically. In Latvia, students stay with the same classmates all day, forming close bonds and homework is heavier. At Gretna High School, however, she has had the chance to meet different friends in each class, and she appreciates how teachers decorate classrooms with personal touches.
“It feels more like the teacher belongs there,” Prauliņa said. “Not just that it’s a school room.”
Separate from academics, Prauliņa is most excited by the school spirit, especially surrounding football games, something she has never experienced back home.
“It makes you feel like you’re part of something big,” she said.
Food has also been an adjustment. She especially misses a cucumber and sour cream salad her family makes in Latvia.
“Here (you) often go out and get some fast food,” Prauliņa said. “So (back home) it’s nice that you can sit down at your table and you can make food together.”
Her family feels the absence just as strongly. With an eight-hour time difference, they rely on WhatsApp and planned calls to stay connected. Her father, in an email interview, added that not being able to hug her has been the hardest.
“Before this big adventure, the longest time my daughter hasn’t been with us is a week, so I miss absolutely everything about her,” her mother, Linda Prauliņa, wrote in an email.
Even her grandmother, Ligita Prauliņa, shared both sadness and pride.
“I am sad, I miss you…I think you have achieved a lot to have made it this far. That is already a success in your life,” she wrote in an email.
Back home, her friends also notice the distance.
“The fact that it’s the other side of the world and she isn’t available anytime,” her friend Loreta Dārta Pļaviņa wrote in an email, “that’s the hardest.”
Her best friend Katrīna Jēkabsone also misses her.
“I miss being together outside of school and at school the most,” she emailed. Still, they enjoy hearing about her new routines. “It seems to me that Latvia and the USA are two completely different worlds.”
Here in Nebraska, Prauliņa has found a second family. Ken and Jeannie Paulison welcomed her with open arms. She also has two host siblings, ages 25 and 27, though they do not live at home.
In an email response, the Paulisons wrote that they were both excited to meet Prauliņa and immediately ran up to her at the airport and hugged her as she came off the exit ramp.
“She is an incredibly articulate and kind young woman, and our relationship will flourish over the next nine months,” the Paulisons wrote.
Together, they have explored the local community, including a trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo, and plan to visit the Old Market, try new foods and explore state parks. Daniela Prauliņa is also teaching them some Latvian.
“We are starting off at a very basic level, but we look forward to learning some basic back-and-forth conversation,” the Paulisons wrote.
For Daniela, this exchange year is about growth and perspective.
“I would say it’s not better, it’s not worse, it’s just different,” Daniela Prauliņa said. “I like that.”
