A Lunch to Remember

By Nicole Chen

On a sunny afternoon, late in the month of August, if you go to Franklin Square in DC,
youll probably observe something like this: young students, bright eyed and a little nervous,
sitting on park benches side by side with strangers with two paper bags between them. Some of
these pairs are sitting in peaceful silence eating identical peanut butter sandwiches, some are
engaged in deep conversation, some are talking about lighter, more playful topics. What is this
you might ask?
Lunches in the Park is a long running tradition of FOCI (first-years orientation to
community involvement), a Georgetown University pre-orientation for freshmen and transfer
students. Lunches in the Park is an activity in which students in FOCI share a meal with a
stranger in a park. The purpose of this activity is to get students out of their comfort zone and
find similarities with people they wouldnt expect to feel connected with. When I participated in
Lunches in the Park I remember feeling extremely nervous and filled with expectations about
what my experience would be like. I went into the experience more concerned about how people
might perceive me than about what I could learn from the activity.
On the day we arrived at Franklin Square, insecurities swam around incessantly in my
mind. What would people think of me if I randomly walked up to them and offered them a
sandwich? Would people even want to have a conversation with a random stranger? What if I
said something stupid? What if they didnt want to talk to me? When the time finally came, I
reasoned that the worst thing that could happen was that someone would refuse to have lunch
with me, and in the grand scheme of things, that wasnt the end of the world. I swallowed my
pride and nervous energy, trying to look casual as I walked around searching for friendly faces to
share my lunch with. I approached three different people and they all turned me down, but I was

determined to have a successful conversation. I looked around, seeing other students who had
already starting talking to people. My eyes suddenly landed on a man sitting alone on a bench
with an old, rusty bicycle leaned up against the bench next him. He had this scruffy gray beard
that looked overgrown, eyebrows that were drawn down in a V shape, and what looked like a
glare in his eyes. His head was tilted down and his eyes were looking at his hands. Upon first
glance, he looked intimidating, but it didnt look like he was doing anything, so I took a deep
breath and made a beeline towards him before I could talk myself out of it. To my relief and
surprise, when I offered the man a sandwich, he gladly took it. Taking this as a good sign, I
introduced myself and told him that I was new to DC and wanted to get to know the city. I asked
him if it was alright that I ate with him and he agreed. His name was Steve. Since there was no
room on the bench he was sitting on, I sat on the ground in front of him and asked him about DC.
He eagerly told me that he had lived in DC all his life. He grew up in the southeast quadrant of
DC and was extremely close with his sister growing up. Soon we were laughing and exchanging
stories of our experiences growing up with a sibling. We both had older sisters who we admired
and looked up to. When Steve was little, he would always insist on dressing up as princesses on
Halloween because his sister would. Because of his princess costumes, the other kids at school
would make fun of him. One year, his sister, knowing that Steve would copy her, decided to
dress up as Superman to spare him from being made fun of. Hearing his stories brought a smile
to my face, it was lovely to hear about his family because it reminded me of my own.
In the midst of this discussion, I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder. I turned and
saw a woman who was looking back and forth at Steve and me with a concerned expression. She
asked me if I was in trouble and if I was alright. I was a little taken aback at first, why was this
woman asking me this question? Then it hit me. I was in her same position just a few minutes

ago. When I was profiling this Steve, I had originally thought that Steve was intimidating and a
little scary, just like the woman was probably thinking at the moment. After I assured her that I
was alright, I tried to continue my conversation with Steve, but that little interaction with the
woman kept playing in the back of my mind. Even after I finished my lunch with Steve, as I was
walking away, I suddenly became aware that there were people glancing in my direction with
looks of concern. This little observation suddenly made it very obvious to me the wicked
problem we still have in our society of making judgements on people based on face value. Even
after repeating the age old cliche, Dont judge a book by its cover, as children, we still classify
people as a certain type of person before even attempting to get to know them. Specifically with
Steve, Im sure the majority of people, will unconsciously label him as homeless without really
getting to the know the person beneath that label.
When my FOCI leaders were introducing me to Lunches in the Park, they were clear on
the fact that it wasnt supposed to be an opportunity to profile the people in the park and target
people experiencing homelessness. They really emphasized the importance of defining people
based on who they are, rather than who they appear to be. We were asked to share a lunch, not
give a lunch. Although there were many times throughout my conversation with Steve that I
did wonder whether or not he was experiencing homelessness, at the end of the day, I realized
that it didnt really matter. It did not change the fact that we are both human and have amazing
older sisters who we love very much. This applies to my education at Georgetown as well
because sometimes I am quick to judge my classes before I even have taken them. Coming from
an atheist background, I was wary about taking my first theology class at Georgetown. After a
semester in Problem of God, Ive realized that I never felt like I was pressured to believe any one
religion. Problem of God showed me that the importance of religion isnt in whether or not God

actually exists or not, but rather the influence it has over the lifestyle, ethical and moral
behaviors of society. Lunches in the Park forced me to stop and consciously think about the
judgements I make on people and on ideas that are foreign to me. It taught me to be open minded
and get involved in social justice by participating in Hypothermia Outreach with the CSJ. Even
though I know that during Hypothermia Outreach, Im supposed to be profiling people
experiencing homelessness, I still treat them as I would any other person, with respect and
humility. My engagement in Hypothermia Outreach reinforces the lessons that Lunches in the
Park taught me. Now, when in doubt, I always chose to open my mind before I close it with
judgements because something that is vital to education is learning with an open mind.