As we left Beijing this morning, it meant we were bidding goodbye to Wally, our tour guide in the city. The ability to tell jokes in a foreign language is a rare skill, but Wally was consistently funny and informative. I know everyone in the group felt like he was a real friend and a great guy. Sure, he had to spout the sometimes absurd Chinese Government spin on everything some of the time, but the overall feel was that of a guy who genuinely liked us and wanted us to have a great time in Beijing. We all did.
An interesting fact about Wally – he used to be a singer before he was a tour guide. He would often sing Chinese songs to us on the bus and he was pretty good. So, when the time came to bid him goodbye, Duke professor Bill Chafe stood up and sang a song to Wally, telling him thanks. It was a truly memorable moment.
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