For them, a clear warming trend
Inuit teenagers see much to like
Imagine you had never seen a movie theater, a train, a skyscraper - a paved road even. And then you flew into one of America's crowded urban landscapes. How would Boston look to eyes accustomed to a vast, snowy wilderness surrounded by icy water?
This is how it went last week for five Inuit high school students, most of whom had previously stayed within a boat ride of their 800 neighbors on the isolated island of Sanikiluaq in South Hudson Bay in Canada's Nunavut province.
The students, fulfilling their part in an exchange that took five East Boston High School students north in March, stayed in Eastie homes, attended classes, and toured the city for six days, starting May 6. The cross-cultural exchange was sponsored by the Maple Leaf Foundation, which connects Boston and Canadian students. This is East Boston's second trip; last year, students went to Nova Scotia, and Nova Scotians came here.
No surprise: The Nunavut visitors found Boston somewhat overwhelming. Busy. Even a little stressful. But they chose their words carefully. Their English is halting. (Their native language is Inuktitut.) And their manner rather shy.
"There's lots of cars," said Jason Iqaluq, 18, quietly. On Sanikiluaq, there are only Sea-Doos and snowmobiles. Just looking at Eastie, with its winding, crowded streets and row houses, "I was starting to get lost," he said.
No wonder. The whirlwind tour would stop as well at the Aquarium, the Museum of Science, the Canadian Consulate General, Franklin Park Zoo, even Good Time Emporium, the Somervile game palace, and Santarpio's, Eastie's pizza palace.
And when the group went to the top of the Prudential, Iqaluq said, "it was kind of scary. I never had been to a tall building before."
Aibillie Amitook, 18, was weirded out by the zoo's crocodiles. There, too, 16-year-old Charlie Tookalook, now completely outfitted in Red Sox regalia, told his hosts, to their amusement, he wanted to hunt. In Nunavut, most animals are food, not attractions.
Lizzie Oqaituq, 16, said the lack of hunting options is the reason she couldn't live in Boston. Yes, the malls are cool, she said. But in Nunavut, "I can go camping and hunting." For geese, specifically. And she's a good shot, she added.
The importance of hunting and fishing, and the Inuit's relationship with nature, were key differences the East Boston students noticed during their week on Sanikiluaq.
"Normally, I'm against hunting and killing animals. But for them, it's a way of life," said Hemel Gil, 17. "They kind of still live like the old ways, and they don't ruin the environment as much as we do."
Alejandro Bonilla, 18, said Inuit hunters use the whole animal and share with the entire community. "It's like everything is useful."
Just like the Inuit, the Eastie students didn't know what to expect after their six-plus-hour journey north, which involved a plane change in Montreal to a smaller, 12-seater. "When we flew in," recalled East Boston chaperone Nina Gaeta, "I had my rosary. . . . 'Please, God, don't let us crash.' But the ocean was frozen and the plane had skis on it. It's just so wild to look down and not see any roads."
Senior Shawn Tortorici, 18, said he knew it would be cold. But he figured, no big, he's from Boston. Wrong. Erica Downey, 18, said they all thought their sweaters and standard winter parkas would see them through. Nope.
"As soon as we walked in, they laughed at us, because we had 'fake' clothes," remembered Gil. "I was like, 'This shirt is Armani! It's not fake!' "
But fake, added Eastie junior Dennis Wright, simply meant not up to weather that can fall to 20 degrees below. Clothes that aren't as warm as seal fur and skin. "They had to give us clothes and sealskin boots to wear," Wright said.
Hunting loomed large in the Eastie students' Nunavut experience. They went ice fishing and saw mussels and sea cucumbers pulled through holes from the icy depths. "They skinned a seal right in front us," Tortorici said. They carved soapstone. They saw igloos.
But as different jam-packed Eastie was from Sanikiluaq - with its sparse houses, no roads, and constant blizzards - teens are still teens everywhere, with similar pursuits.
There was a convenience store on the island with a pool table and video games. "It was kind of like Good Time, but very small," Hemel said, laughing.
Nunavut youths play basketball, watch movies, and go to church and school - in their case, the K-12 Nuiyak School. And after the Eastie students left, they kept in touch through instant messaging.
The Eastie students said they couldn't see living in Sanikiluaq, but Aibillie Amitook and 21-year-old Sam Eqilaq think they might be able to live here. Eqilaq said he liked everything about it.
Nunavut coprincipal and chaperone Lisi Kavik said she was initially reluctant to visit Boston. She was scared of jet planes and still associated Logan with Sept. 11.
But two things made her experience here totally worthwhile, she said: blooming flowers and the infamous Boston accent.
"It's so cool," she said. "You can't miss it.
"Wait 'til I get home. I'll be totally Baahstaan!" 