John Thompson
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (June 27/05) - Bustling boulevards, smoky cafes and the Eiffel tower looming in the near distance must have provided an odd backdrop for Dennis Nakoolak to practise Inuktitut.

The 24-year-old, who hails from Cape Dorset and more recently has made Iqaluit his home, was teaching his language and culture in Europe thanks to a scholarship from Nunavut News/North-Kivalliq News.

"It was a real eye opener," he said. "There's a whole world out there, outside Nunavut."

The $5,000 allowed the Inuit Studies student at Nunavut Arctic College the opportunity to travel to Amsterdam and Paris.

The Institute of Eastern Languages and Civilizations (Inalco) in Paris offers a degree in Inuit language and culture.

Nakoolak found the students' writing was quite good, but they needed pronunciation tips and had little exposure to the dialect of his community.

Standing in front of a class of Parisian students as the sole Inuk took some getting used to.

"At first I kept speaking English, because I didn't feel comfortable speaking Inuktitut to a bunch of strangers. But after a while, I became more comfortable."

He also taught traditional songs and string games to classes during his visit.

During his off-time, he toured the city and sucked up Paris' culture and cuisine.

While he enjoyed the fresh-baked bread, he didn't take to the country's variety of strong cheeses, which he said tasted too rich, like igunaq - fermented walrus meat.

In Amsterdam, he helped professor Jarich Oosten translate a videotaped interview with Inuit elders.

He says the trip inspired him to learn more about his own language and culture, and hopes other youth will do the same.

"More people should be doing this, teaching their culture," he said.

"It doesn't need to just be Inuit. It can be anyone who's interested."

He's enroled to return to Arctic College this fall for the interpreter-translator program.