Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Arctic Bay (Feb 14/00) - Teresa Barnabas will be one step closer to making her dream a reality when she and her friends return home to Arctic Bay from Ottawa later this week.

Part of Inuujaq school's renowned High School Cafe, the teenaged-wonder said that during a 12-day student cultural exchange to Ottawa, she and her colleagues planned to visit a bed and breakfast to get a better understanding of what's involved in opening such an establishment.

In December, the members of the High School Cafe -- a well-known fund-raising organization in the North Baffin hamlet -- sat down and drew up a series of goals they hoped to reach.

At the top of that list, Cafe members said they wanted to investigate the possibility of opening their own bed and breakfast business in Arctic Bay.

Just two months later, with a potential location already scouted out, Barnabas and 10 other students headed to the nation's capital, excited at the prospect of seeing a bed and breakfast in operation.

"I am excited actually because it's not every day you see people going in for a new business in our community," said Barnabas.

"To be able to do that, to be able to be my own boss, we need some help," she said.

Cafe co-ordinator Ron Elliott, also in Ottawa for the exchange, said the experience would give the group ideas and knowledge they need to begin to be successful in their venture.

"We're meeting with someone from Aboriginal Business Canada to talk about the business idea we have, to get some help with it," said Elliott.

"It's all part of the High School Cafe's business plan. We're checking out a couple of bed and breakfasts to get an idea of what they're like, what we're getting into," he said.

And while business planning will take up much of their time, the cultural aspect of the trip hasn't been forgotten.

Sponsored by the YMCA's Visions Youth Exchange Program, at a total cost of $42,000, the group planned to take part in many of Ottawa's available activities with their hosts from Hillcrest high school.

Elliott said while the benefits of the program were multi-layered, perhaps the most significant effect was the cultural pride and knowledge it would instill in both groups of students.

For Jennifer Allooloo however, visiting the shops was the main draw of the visit to the city.

"I want to go shopping for clothes and I want to buy a snake."