Kent Driscoll
Northern News Services

London, Ont. (Jan 09/06) - Nakasuk Alariaq doesn't talk like a 14-year-old. The Cape Dorset girl doesn't sound like a 14-year-old and she takes thoughtful pauses before answering questions, unlike most 14-year-olds.

Nakasuk Alariaq of Cape Dorset is spending the school year in London, Ont. There, she mixes and mingles with students from all over the world. When she was home over the holidays, all she missed was "the malls and my cellphone." - photo courtesy of Nakasuk Alariaq

This serious and well-spoken young woman is on the educational journey of a lifetime. She is going to school at the Nancy Campbell Collegiate Institute in London, Ont.

London is a long way from Cape Dorset, but Alariaq has a lot of company adjusting to her new life. Many of the students are from around the world.

"Everybody just calls me Nak," was Alariaq's answer to how her foreign friends get their tongues around an Inuit name.

She doesn't hold it against them. "It's pretty new and hard for them. Lots of them are from Asia and are just learning English," said Alariaq.

She was home for Christmas and while she was happy to be with her mom Kristina and her dad Timun, she did miss a few of her southern comforts.

"I liked coming back to my friends and family, and I missed the malls and my cellphone," said Alariaq.

Her scholarship at the school ends at the end of the school year, but she may qualify for a half scholarship next year.

After she is done with high school, this young woman has some big plans. "I'd like to go to McMaster for engineering, the University of Toronto for science or the University of British Columbia for archaeology," said Alariaq.

Making the move from country food to the processed foods in the south was a big change for Alariaq, but she has a unique tactic to cope. Call her a part-time vegetarian.

"I stopped eating meat. I don't like the store-bought meat and how they prepare it. When I go home, I still eat meat, but not that store meat," said Alariaq.