Mapping Georgetown: A Valentine’s Day Heart-Melter
By • February 14, 2022 0 1266
You hold a special place in my heart and I’ll be forever grateful. ~ Cara Bien
She had me at “Dear Georgetown”! This love story will bring you to tears.
We’re so fortunate to be able to share our stories with our beloved community at Georgetown University and feel their joy to have made Georgetown a cherished part of their lives, whether they came to visit for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
Cara’s Mapping Georgetown story:
Cara Bien’s Mapping Georgetown Story. Photo courtesy Mapping Georgetown.
Dear Georgetown,
As you know, I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ve thought long and hard about what to write and yet struggle to put everything into words and onto this tiny piece of paper. Six months isn’t a particularly long time but you made me feel at home right from the start. Thank you for giving me Wiebke (I had a long lost hope to find a decent flat mate), for Migle, David, Tom and all the wonderful people I met and now call friends. Thank you for showing me that I can accomplish things I thought I couldn’t do and for inspiring me to dream big. I have this ridiculous urge to take a trillion more pictures to help keep you close but the truth is that’s unnecessary. You hold a special place in my heart and I’ll be forever grateful. We both know I’m not ready to leave but that’s ok because I know one day I’ll be back!
German exchange student in foreign service, Cara Bien, wrote of her beloved Georgetown. Image from Cara Bien.
A couple of sentences about myself:
I’m originally from Freiburg, Germany, but spent a significant time growing up in St. Andrews, Scotland, where I went to boarding school. After completing boarding school, I returned to Germany and studied Geography in Heidelberg. Currently I’m a graduate student of International Affairs at the Hertie School in Berlin. Last semester, from August to December 2021, I had the great privilege of partaking in a student exchange with the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. As I hope to have conveyed through my mapping story, I had an incredible time and will keep Georgetown in great memory as I graduate this summer in Berlin.
….Thanks for the great initiative – I look forward to reading many more Mapping Georgetown stories in the future!
Best wishes from Berlin,
Cara
Wiebke and Migle on Shenandoah’s Skyline Drive. Photo courtesy of Cara Bien.
“A typical summer night in our garden with friends,” Cara Bien.
“One of my favorite photos of GU, because it reminds me very much of Hogwarts,” Cara Bien.
Thank you, Cara, for sharing your wonderful spirit with us in Georgetown! We are eternally grateful to you and all of the personalities we meet, and come to call friends. We’ll be looking forward to your return.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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To learn more about the Mapping Georgetown project see https://georgetowner.com/articles/2021/07/19/marilyn-butlers-vision-for-mapping-georgetown/.
To submit your Georgetown recollections to Mapping Georgetown go to www.mappinggeorgetown.com or visit the Georgetown Public Library to pick up a physical map-story form to fill out.
Marilyn Butler can be reached at marilyn.butler@gmail.com.
