Young at Heart

By Sungeni Chithambo
Hillel Aron is a Journalism Masters student from the University of Southern California. He is from Los Angeles but is currently staying in Cape Town and is a news writer for The Cape Argus. I met him pretty randomly. I was just chilling in Zoo Minor waiting for the Captivate workshop to begin and I heard an American accent behind me. Americans are always interesting. So I thought I’d turn around and introduce myself. After asking if he was invited to the conference I asked “what are you”? “A person!” he answered. The whole class turned around and laughed.
Hillel is tall with dark hair. I’d rather not describe him as tall, dark and handsome. He has a youthful face and a very nice phone. Gold. I asked him if we could exchange but he said no. He was wearing jeans, a checked shirt and white and navy Nike sneakers. Laid back attire, just like his personality. I think Hillel looks a little like Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother. He loves soccer. He says he sucks at it though. He also enjoys reading and going to restaurants. His favourite one in Cape Town is Eastern Bizzare. He has a younger brother who is 25 years old. I got the shock of my life when he said that. Hillel doesn’t look a year over 21! I’m still struggling to believe that he’s 30. You’re 30 years old? “In Los Angeles everyone looks young,” he says amused.
Another thing I find interesting about him is his name. It sounds especially funky when pronounced with an American accent. He says he was named after a famous Hebrew priest. Now that sounds like the name of someone destined for great things. Even more cool – he has a friend called Shotgun!