King PITA Announces His Quest

Hear ye, Hear ye! Let it be known that King PITA will commence his China quest on February 11, in the year of our Lord, 2008.

Oye, enough of that.

I finally set up my blog for this trip, and I'm hoping I can maintain it while scurrying about in the Far East. As most of you already know, my college (NYIT) somehow saw fit to send me to teach at our new campus in Nanjing, China. We have partnered with the Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications. (Eesh, that's a mouthful--let's just say NUPT. Yes, yes, I know. "Neeit" and "Nuupit" sound silly, but there it is...) NUPT is NYIT's next venture into developing its global programs, and I'm really very excited about teaching there this spring. I'll be teaching writing about literature and the research paper, and it should be quite an academic and culture experience (for both me AND them...). It's not like I'm going to stick out like a soar thumb or anything. I'll just be that 6'1" pale American with long(ish) hair and a goatee cruising around campus on one of the few sanctioned bicycles. Also, I don't know a bit of Mandarin. I have a dictionary and some CDs. Have I listened to them yet? That's a big negative. But, I do have a 15 hour flight. Maybe I can learn a few words and phrase, you know, like: "Where am I?"; "I'm hungry."; "Which way to New York?"; or "Do fries come with that egg role?" Ok, ok, seriously, though, I do hope to learn some Mandarin. But, my brother gave me book to read on the plane, and a good friend recommended a bunch of Russian SF books to read, so my flight over is already pretty well booked (sorry, couldn't resist that nauseating pun). When I get on campus, I'll be sure to post some pics. I'm really excited.

Most of you are probably relieved that I'll be out of your hair for a good while. (I sometimes wonder if I'm being sent into temporary exile by my college. After all, I will be much closer to Siberia than ever before...) I'll be gone from Feb 11 to May 31. King PITA will be Asian Dave by the end of the spring. I'll be in Shanghai from Feb 12 to Feb 21. For those paying attention, I'll turn 40 in Shanghai. Now, how many people can say that? (Um, well, according the Lonely Planet guide to China, about 15 million, but who's counting?) Then, I'll be in Nanjing from Feb 21 to about May 23 playing professor. Finally, Beijing will have to tolerate me from May 24 to May 30. By then, my transformation into Asian Dave should be complete.

OK, I gotta go figure out Picasa so I can post pics online. (Thanks, "Milla," for the recommendation.)

Oh yeah, some of you may be wondering what's up with this King PITA business. Two dear humans blessed of God have been further blessed with the (mis)fortune of befriending me (really, what were they thinking?...) During an absurdly difficult time in my life (still a thorn in my side, but the wisdom of St. Paul on thorns is quite helpful), I stumbled and fumbled my way into their lives. Why they keep letting me back in, I'll never know. They would say it's evidence of God's grace, and they are probably right, because Lord knows they wouldn't do so by choice (that begs the larger question of "choice" and "freewill" but we won't go there...ha ha). But I digress. Anyway, over the past two years, I've become known affectionately by them as "King PITA." Two of their children just call me "Professor Dave" or "Crazy Man." Their youngest (who they've named Caleb but who is really Frodo--he is a total hobbit) knows me as "Gandalf." But their parents know me mainly as King PITA (i.e., King Pain in the Arse). It's all good.

OK, really, off to figure out Picasa.

Stay tuned.