Craig Dodge - Blog

Today was the last meeting of the year of my wonderful group at Boehringer-Ingelheim. The members of the group were so enthusiastic, energetic and talkative that our meetings were usually the highlight of my week. (Please note that there were a few people who were not able to make today's party, and are therefore missing from the above picture.)

Our theme was "Hot Topics and Dramatic Dialogs", my favorite format for groups of intermediate level and above.  The topics that we discussed were a little "controversial" in order to generate lively conversations and to practice important language skills that are useful in the business environment. Participants actively expressed, supported and solicited opinions. Members had to organize their thoughts logically, and learn how to agree with others' opinions as well as politely and diplomatically disagree. We practiced understanding and explaining different perspectives, and exploring and applying different value systems to better understand cultural differences.

I really admire this group's willingness to tackle difficult and controversial subjects. Just a few of the topics we discussed were:

• Health care
• Global warming
• Disabilities and discrimination
• Crime and punishment
• Gossip and rumors
• HIV and AIDS
• Problem solving and customer service
• Business ethics and morals
• Work-life balance
• Cultural differnces

Other activities we did included giving speeches, taking surveys, discussing important holidays and of course, our pot luck farewell lunch today.

Part of today's program was to share a short song that can be sung when your time together with someone is coming to an end . The person who sang the song was Carol Burnett, one of my favorite comedians of all time. She had a comedy TV show from the late 1960's to the late 1970's, and at the end of every show, she sang this song. I invite you to watch a video of her singing the song and you can read the lyrics below.

Carol Burnett's Theme

I'm so glad we had this time together,
Just to have a laugh, or sing a song.
Seems we just get started and before you know it
Comes the time we have to say, "So long".

There's a time you put aside for dreamin'.
And a time for things you have to do.
The time I love the best is any evening
I can spend a moment here with you.

When the time comes and I'm feelin' lonely
And I'm feelin' oh so blue.
I just sit back and think of you only
And the happiness still comes through.

That's why I'm glad we had this time together.
Cause it makes me feel like I belong.
Seems we just get started and before you know it
Comes the time we have to say, "So Long".

Good night everybody!