Iqaluit (Jun 05/06) - Georgina Illauq travelled half-way around the globe only to speak Inuktitut in the middle of France.

Having completed her first year of the Interpreter/Translator course at Nunavut Arctic College in Iqaluit with high marks, Illauq earned a News/North travel scholarship to Paris.

While there in late April and early May, she visited an Inuit cultural exhibit and engaged in discourse with a professor of Inuktitut at a French university. The experience floored her.

"I never thought I would ever hear about anyone learning our language on the other side of the world," she said wide eyed. "It amazed me."

It was Illauq's first time travelling abroad. After recovering from jet lag caused by the Iqaluit-Ottawa-Washington-Paris flights, she took the opportunity to taste French cuisine, view the Eiffel Tower, purchase some mementos and ride the "metro," or subway.

"Sometimes it was crowded," she said of France's mass transit system.

Illauq, who grew up in Clyde River, said she is looking forward to resuming her studies in the fall. She has set her sights on becoming a professional translator.

Already fluent in Inuktitut, she has been learning how to break down syllabics and tries to keep in mind that languages often can't be translated literally as they have many nuances.

"Nunavut needs a lot of interpreters and translators," she said. "I want to help elders or unilingual Inuit to understand another language such as English, and vice-versa."