Where in the world is Eric Hilleman?
Eric Hilleman grew up in St. Louis, Mo. with his mother, father and younger sister Renee. When he turned 18, he joined the United States Marine Corps. During his five years with the Marines he spent much of his time in places like Camp Fuji, Japan; Manila, Philippines and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and many other countries along the way.
After fulfilling his duties, he decided to study at Utah State University but his major was still undecided. He said his main interests were political science and foreign affairs. So, when he had the chance to spend 10 months studying in Cairo, Egypt, he jumped on the magic carpet of opportunity.
He submitted a proposal to the National Security Education Program. The program selected Hilleman as a study abroad candidate and in August of 2002, granted him $14,800 to move himself to Egypt.
While in Egypt he attended the American University in Cairo and enrolled in an intensive Arabic language program for two semesters.
“I took Arabic all day, every day,” he said. “It was an excellent place to study.”
Hilleman said he chose to study in Cairo because he wanted to expand his understanding of the Middle East in a safe environment. He said Cairo is the hub of media/entertainment and political influence in the Middle East.
“It’s like the Hollywood of the Middle East,” he said.
Hilleman said, “I would like to work for the U.S. State Department … which was my goal going into the NSEP scholarship.”
According to the NSEP Web site, its goal is to educate U.S. citizens, understand foreign cultures, strengthen American economic competitiveness and enhance international cooperation and security.
The program provides scholarships, fellowships and grants to equip Americans with an understanding of less-commonly taught languages and cultures and enable them to become integrally involved in global issues.
Students desiring to learn more about the program should visit the it’s Web site at www.iie.org/nsep or Kay Forsyth in the USU Study Abroad Office in Room 313 of the Taggart Student Center.
Hilleman is currently the USU campus representative for NSEP and encourages students to take advantage of the program.
He tells students that are considering a study-abroad experience to “stop considering and do it … the sooner the better.” He advises students to “go into it with an open mind … don’t compare and complain, just enjoy the [cultural] differences.”
Hilleman said the people in Cairo reveled in the simplicity of life, like paying a gas bill. In America, there is usually only one way of doing this mundane task, he said. The bill is received in the mail; the debtor writes a check to the gas company and sends it in back in the mail. In Cairo, Hilleman said, there are a number of ways to accomplish the task. He said the easiest way is probably to give the money to the doorman and have him pay it for you. Another way would be to pay the gas man personally when he comes to your place or you can go directly to the central office and pay it. He said the postal system is not used there like it is in America.
Another cultural difference Hilleman said he enjoyed was “haggling for the price of fruit.”
Each day on his walk to classes, he would negotiate the price of an apple or banana, until he established a relationship with the vender.
“Egyptians are kind and jovial people who know more about U.S. politics than the average American,” he said.
When he returned, Hilleman brought back 26 Arabic language credits and a whole new understanding of the Middle East.
-tamber@cc.usu.edu