日记之一
Edinburgh is famous for its fantastic castles and the representative one is called Edinburgh Castle, which is located in the heart of the City Centre and along the Princes Street (which is the most prosperous street in Edinburgh). This castle was once the mighty fortification of Scotland and the favoured residence of Scotland’s kings and queens. Besides the impressive architectures, there are also many mysterious stories happened there which nowadays the cloaked guide will lead you to find them.I have indeed taken a lot of pictures there. But there are still many splendid things leaving for me to further discover.
日记之二
Yesterday I went to the Ocean Terminal with the expection to see the beach, the sand and the wave, all the beautiful memories I have with the sea. But to my disappointment, no such things at the Ocean Terminal, only the man-made dam along the deep dark water. The only thing I enjoyed are the beautiful seabirds, sometimes flying in the sky, sometimes resting on the water, freely and cosily.
日记之三
Transportation in Edinburgh is very convenient. The main transportation vehicle is bus, mostly two-deckers. Almost every bus line is connected with City Centre, which means from City Centre, you can, as you like, go to every corner of Edinburgh without difficulty. Bus fare is comparatively higher with 1.10 pounds( now rises to 1.20) for each single trip. But the riding facility and environment is quite comfortable without the normal scene and feeling you sense in China-- At least, almost every time you get on a bus, there is normally a bare seat waiting for you. Besides, with a day-ticket, you can take all the bus lines all day long without paying extra fare no matter how many times you have taken. If taking bus is your main transportation method, the most economic way is to buy a bus pass, 36 pounds per 4 weeks. A simple calculation and comparition will obviously tell the story. To me, the only problem in taking bus now is that, with all the buildings built in the almost same old style―though very beatiful and attractive , I can seldom find a distinct mark to remind myself of the stop.
Taxi is comparatively less used partly because the convenience provided by bus service. Bicycle is also rarely seen on the street. No specific bicycle riding space is spared from the already very narrow road, so bicyclers are required to put on a helmet when riding on the same road alongside the bus. What surpises me the most is , unlike the normal remote location of railway station, the railway station of Edinburgh is just located in the heart of the City Center, so convenient for travellers meanwhile not a little discordant with the surroundings.
日记之四
Not all the people who go to church believe in God. But seldom a person goes to Europe will not go to church. One of my friend said , there are two places in Europe most worth visiting: one is university, the other is church. Well, to some extent, yes. Church is a place full of culture, not only the culture of religion, but also the culture of arts: music, painting and architecture. Even though I have barely any knowledge about all of these, I can still feel the overwheming shock every time when standing in the holy space, being wrapped by the holy atmosphere. Church is also a place of silence and peace which is the most attractive aspect to me.
In the X-mas Eve, many formal religious events will be held in churches, especially in cathedrals. S. Mary’s Cathedral, which is the biggest church in Edinburgh, was full of people in the X-mas Eve to attend the events including “the service of Nine Lessons and Carols” followed by the Midnight Mass. The whole events were quite holy, the music and the carols were quite moving. During the process, I deeply understood what really the word “harmony” meant when all the thousands of people were singing in such an concord with such an enthusiasm while without any person to conduct the Carol. Maybe, in their deep hearts, there really exist a Conductor?
Today is Christmas Day, the birthday of Jesus Christ. All the shops closed, all the city silenced.As if everying is waiting, waiting, waiting...
日记之五
Today I went to the University to talk to Donald about my course-choosing .Donald is the programme leader of the MSc in accounting department. He helped me to choose two modules which are Accounting Principals and Financial Management. My favourable course is International Finance. Unfortunately, this course is not available this year because only three students chose this course while the required number of students is 26.
日记之六
I got my staff card on Tuesday, and used it to borrow some books from the University’ library. Every book has its different loan period normally from 7days to 28days after the borrowing date, and must be returned or renewed on or before due date. Failure to do so will result in an heavy penalty in money. So I must watch out for it carefully.
The library of Craiglorkhart campus is not very big. And because of the lack of room, all the bookcases in the reading room are mobile. Every bookcase has listed clearly on its side the journals and newspaper being involved. Follow some action instructions, readers can easily move apart every two bookcases necessary to find the ltems they need. That is very impressive to me. Computers are available on every seat for the readers who have already registered to conveniently use.
日记之七
In Napier University, it is very convenient to use computer. Since computer is indispensable in dealing with routine jobs and study. Every staff has got a desktop in the office. Even PhD students have their each own desktop equiped by the University. Many more computers are publicly located in the library and the hall of the campus building (by the way , there is only one building in the Craiglorkhart Campus, half old half new, with almost all the necessary functions in it-- staff offices, classrooms, lecture hall, library, canteen, etc. ) Every staff and student has each own username and password, and can be freely access any computer in the University. For each new staff user, like me, C&IT service centre will arrange for a half -an -hour individual guidance at the staff’s workstation, to help the staff get familiar with their web services as quickly as possible. For new students, they provide free training classes.
One of the computer services I find quite useful is to manage your own online library card- to check your present borrowing situation, to renew books online etc. The Unversity has very strict rules on borrowing deadline. Different book has its different time limit mainly according to the demand situation.Standard loan is 28days, most books are 7 days, even some are only allowed 1 day loan. Overdue book will be charged at a heavy fine rate. For standard loan, the fine rate is 10pence per day. For 7 days loan, 50p per day, and for 1 day loan, ￡1 per day. If it is reserve loan , ￡1 per HOUR. I think these rules are quite necessary since they accelerate the circulation and increase the value of the books.
Another fully functioned computer service is email. Every staff and student owns their own University email address once obtains their access right. Almost all the communications and information exchanges among staff and students are completed by email. Staff meeting are seldom needed here.
日记之八
Today I attended an interview arranged by the Department for a Lecturer in Financial Services . Six candidates, though with different background, almost all have more or less practical experience in this area. Each candidate gave a 15-minute presentation with the following given topic: The key issues which should be addressed in Financial Services education at the present time. Following the presentation was a 5-minute question-answer process. All candidates are well prepared, using Powerpoint to give the framework of their presentation. During the interval between the presentations, interviewers exchange their comments on each candidate. The comments included the content of the presentation , the speaking style (teaching style), the background etc. As to the content, they seem to emphasize more on the academic or theoretical aspect than professional or practical aspect , with the thinking that theory is fundamental while practice is variable. Sounds a bit reasonable.
Coffee, tea and biscuits are serviced during the course, to create a light air.
（注：金融学院龚剑铃老师为南京审计学院海外访问学者,2008年9月赴英国龙比亚大学进修学习。）
