I started writing this column last semester for the same reason anyone else would start writing a food column: I love food. Seriously. I really, really, really love food.

To me, there are few greater pleasures than enjoying a good meal from start to finish, from feasting my eyes on the plate before me to embracing the very last forkful with satisfaction. But beyond the visceral joy of savoring an unctuous piece of pan-fried pancetta or making the first crack in a crème brûlée’s crust, I believe that food is a very powerful thing.

Whenever I meet someone for the first time, I always ask where they’re from. This often sets the stage for the next logical question: “So, what’s the food like there?” Or, if I’m familiar with the cuisine, an exclamation of “I love [insert your choice of delicious local food here]!” Bringing up food sparks great conversation and has helped me forge instant connections. In this — and many other ways, as I’ve found — a love for food provides us all with common ground, no matter where we come from.

I decided to explore this power of food to bring people together in the first semester of “Breaking Bread.” When first I started writing, I envisioned myself as Georgetown’s very own Anthony Bourdain — with an agenda.

Bourdain, a chef, author and as I know him, the host of Travel Channel’s “No Reservations,” has my dream job. On his show, he travels the world in search of good food and adventure – and gets paid to do it. With his wry sense of humor and a knack for effortlessly crossing cultural boundaries, he delivers stories of people and food from all corners of the earth through TV screens from week to week.

Yup, I aspired to be just like him, if only Bourdain hovered around 5’2″ and counted knitting as a hobby.

After all, I too sought good food, culture and adventure. I wanted to share it with the world (and until Travel Channel gives me a show, this column is my best bet). But more than that, I wanted to show how food unites us, over the dinner table with our families, at campus events open to the Georgetown community, or simply as a topic of conversation between two strangers. Through my interviews with various Georgetown students, and ultimately in my columns, I arrived at this conclusion again and again, which is exactly what I was looking for. Or was it?

To be honest, keeping this message fresh became a challenge as the semester wore on. After all, unlike Mr. Bourdain, I don’t have a budget and a creative team behind me! Left to my own devices, I wasn’t sure if I could keep telling the same story in a way that remained interesting for you to read and me to write. I wondered if an end to “Breaking Bread” was in sight.

On the other hand, I’ve learned so much from the interviews and research that have gone into this column; about food, people, history, culture — all the things that interest me most about the world. I’ve loved the opportunities to try new food and meet new people and share these experiences with you. And I’ve decided I’m not quite ready to quit.

So where do we go from here?

Mr. Bourdain seemingly hosts No Reservations with no nice, tidy moral messages in mind. Yet he ties his experiences together into a story by the end of every show. Maybe the next step for me is to write like he works — without a grand plan. This does not necessarily entail dropping the “agenda” entirely and abandoning the message I hold so dear — but I no longer want to limit myself to it either.

Does food bring people together? I think it’s safe to say the answer’s yes. But what other questions are waiting to be answered? What else does food have to say? I’m looking forward to finding out what delicious answers await.

Christina Crisostomo is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service. She can be reached at [email protected]. Breaking Bread appears every other Friday in the guide.