Semester Two

After the three-week Christmas holiday, I started my second semester on 11th January. I had four exams during the first two weeks, including Introduction to Financial Accounting, Introduction to Marketing, Quantitative Techniques and Microeconomics. I was worried about Marketing exam when preparing for it, as I was not sure that I would be able to remember all the concepts. Fortunately, the exam was not hard. I felt that doing the reading required over my first term was necessary and helpful to pass the exam.

The teaching period started after the two-week examining time. In my second semester, there were six modules as well, including Operations Management, Introduction to Management Accounting, Macroeconomics, Business Decision Analysis, Information Technology in Business as well as English Legal System and Contract Law.

Management Accounting seemed to be easier than Financial Accounting, which I had studied in my first term. However, the final exam tended to be more difficult than the exam of Financial Accounting. Management Accounting did not involve a lot of calculations. In fact, I felt Management Accounting put its emphasis on understanding accounting concepts. We had learnt different kinds of costing system, such as activity-based-costing (ABC). The knowledge of Management Accounting is useful for senior managers to make both strategic and tactical business decisions. I enjoyed the lectures taught by Dr. Dr Omneya Abdelsalam

Besides Management Accounting, I loved operations management so much. Dr. William, who is the lecturer of this module always has clear minds. The module was not easy to learn; however, “most students not only passed the exam but also had great results,” Dr. William said in our first lecture. I believed he was right, as the exam questions tended not to be hard for students who attended the lectures. (Although I loved this module so much, I am not able to study more about operations management, as my major, AFM, dose not have any relevant optional modules I could choose in my future study. As a result, it is important for AFM students who want to study more about operations management to think about their major carefully when they need to make a choice of their course at the end of the second term.)

Regarding IT, I felt a bit bored of this module. I am not very good at computer. The things I had learnt in my lectures were more about the structure of the computer and network. I felt it was hard for me to remember the English names of hardware and software. Fortunately, there were only multiple choice questions in the exam, which was much easier than previous exams having both multiple choice questions and short essay questions.

In this post, I have talked about three modules that I had learnt in the second term. I am going to say more about other modules, Macroeconomics, Business Decision Analysis and Law, in my next post.

Shopping &Visiting In Birmingham

As I promised earlier, I am posting some pictures of the stuff I have bought during Christmas and some photos of the museum as well as the church in Birmingham which I have visited.

 I bought these clothes at 50% discount, which makes them a lot cheaper.

 Before are the photos of the church in the city center.

 In the museum, I have learnt the history of the Bull Ring shopping center.

All these pictures are drawn by Birmingham people.

The View of the Park In Basildon

I am now posting some pictures of the view in Basildon. I hope you will like this place as I do.

Christmas Holiday 2

Jing and I went back to Birmingham on 28th. She has never been here before and I told her Birmingham was a great place to go shopping. Therefore, we went shopping almost everyday when she was here.
From my point of view, Bull Ring and the House of Fraser are the best places for shopping. We bought some bottles of anti-wrinkles cream from Dior in the House of Fraser for only 5 pounds each. I have to say the boots and high heels in that shopping mall were really comfortable and lovely. (I will also post some pictures of the clothes and shoes I had bought during the holiday later on.) Things in Bull Ring, another shopping center in Birmingham, became cheap during Christmas. It is better to ask whether they do student discount s when paying for something, as a lot of shops, including Topshop has 10% student discount in Bull Ring.
In addition to shopping, Jing and I also visit the museum in the city center. The museum exhibits some oil paintings which were drew by Birmingham people. One exhibition hall tells visitors the history of Bull Ring by using pictures, photos, models and words. By visiting this museum, I have had a picture of the lifestyle of Birmingham people and the development of Birmingham. Additionally, the museum provides some games for parents and their children, such as drawing games. I believe these games are necessary, as they will help parents to develop an even better relationship with their children. Jing and I loved playing these games as well. We also drew a picture together by using the tools provided.
Additionally, we visited a church near the museum. I had a great impression on the windows, as there were different colours on them. I remembered that day when the sunshine went through the windows, I felt very peaceful and hopeful. (Some pictures of the church will also be posted later.)
All in all, as I feel I knew more about Birmingham and Birmingham people after visiting the museum and the church. I suggest foreign students to go and visit such places in order to have a picture of British people’s lifestyle. In my next post, I plan to upload the pictures of some stuff I have bought during Christmas as well as some photos of the museum and the church.

Christmas Holiday 1

My first Christmas holiday started on 21st December. Instead of going back to China. I chose to spend my three week holiday in the UK. (The truth was that I missed the time to book flying tickets. The ticket turned to be very expensive at the beginning of December. As a result, it is better for international students who plan to go home during Christmas to book tickets early.) Although I missed my family, I was excited to celebrate Christmas with my friend Jing whose family is in Basildon, a small town near London.
My train ticket was on 24th. It required me to take a train from Birmingham to London and then change another train to Basildon. I felt a bit worried as there was only 40 minutes for me to change a station and then change the train in London. I had heard that train stations in London were so big and easy to get lost. As a result, I searched the route by using the internet before I left my room. The changing time was limited; however, I was able to catch my train as the employees in the train station are really friendly. They told me where to take the underground. (Please do not be afraid of asking the way when you do not know where to go in the stations. Officers there are really friendly and helpful.) After another 30 minutes, I arrived at Basildon.
My friend Jing was waiting for me at the station. We were so happy to see each other. She then took me home. Her mom was friendly as well. We had a great lunch together. It was a really long time that I had not eaten Chinese food; therefore, I ate a lot. Later that day, Jing and me chatted. We told each other everything that had happened during our first semester.
In the following days, we went shopping, visited museums and went exercise. Oh, we also drank. Jing’s mom really loves drinking wine. She also bought some famous Chinese wine. I remembered that one day Jing and me started drinking at 2pm. and finished at 10pm. we drank different kinds of drinks. There was one kind which tasted like coffee that I loved so much. (Unfortunately, I forgot the name of the drink.) I had a wonderful time with her and her mom. I will then post some photos which I took when I was in Basildon in my next post.

First Week of Study

After the International Welcome Week and Freshers' Week, I started my study on 4th October. I had six modules during the first term, including 'Introduction to Organisational Behaviour', 'Quantitative Techniques', 'Introduction to Marketing Management', 'International Foundations of Management', 'Introduction to Microeconomics' and 'Introduction to Financial Acoounting'.
Among these six modules, I love Accounting so much. The Financial Accounting we studied during the first term was a bit difficult, as it involved a lot of topics. It focused on preparing financial statements for external stakeholders; as a result, a lot of rules must be obeyed. The lecturer, Dr. Ilias, is very good. He has clear minds regarding accounting. I did enjoy all his lectures. (Please do not worry about not passing this module, as I think that the exam becomes easier, compared with previous years exams. )
I felt that 'Introduction to Organisational Behaviour' was the most difficult module during the first semester, because the assessment is based on writing essays and I am not good at writing. There were 10 short weekly essays and 2 assignments needed to be done. There was no doubt that plenty of reading was involved in writing essays. References are also needed to be included. As an international student, I found that adding references in my essays is not easy, as certain formats of references should be followed. The magazine published by Aston staff regarding how to cite references in the library is quite useful for international students. Additionally, the book, 'How To Write Successful Business and Management Essays', written by Dr. Patrick, who is the lecturer of this module, helped me a lot when writing assignments. It taught me how to make a plan for an assignment and how to make notes when reading. Although a lot of international students,who are not good at writing, like me felt that this module was hard, we also regarded it as the most useful module. It helps students to understand what usually motivate employees and how to work within a team. I also gained a better knowledge of my personality due to several online tasks I had done during the term. In addition, Dr. Patrick makes the lectures interesting and relax.
I also liked Marketing, since a short video involving the marketing concepts was played at the end of each lecture. 'Quantitative Techniques' was not hard as the exam was open book. As I already studied Microeconomics before, it was a bit boring for me to study almost the same stuff again.
All in all, the modules in the first semester were not too hard. I think the key point for students is to learn how to manage the time so as to enjoy both our study and social life in the university.

International Welcome Week

The International Welcome Week Started on 23rd September. As you can image, it is for all the international students. During the daytime, we were asked to enroll on our courses and attend several welcome talks as well as some workshops. Every evening, party was held in the 'Student Guild' and 'Einstein' ( I am sure that you will be very familiar with these two places when you start your studying, as a lot of student activities are held there.).

The enrollment process was a bit time-consuming. It is better to get up early and enroll the course, as more students would come in the afternoon. I also felt that it was necessary to attend the sessions appeared on my personal timetable on MAP, because I had got to know the school that I belong to, the course directors and the administrative staff that I could ask for help in the future. There was one session regarding intercultural communication impressed me a lot. Students from different countries with unique culture were grouped and asked to write down the keys characteristics of their culture on one piece of paper. Then, we got a chance to know different culture while walking around the room and looking at the paper on the wall. (If there is such session in your timetable, please do attend, as you will know a lot of interesting staff during the time.)

Regarding our social life in the evening, 'Talent Show' was the most impressive event during the week. Students, including freshers, showed their amazing talent that night. Several second-year students gave comments after each one performed. The guy who dance as Michael Jackson was really amazing (I did feel that Michael  were alive when he was dancing). That was my happiest night during the week. I am thinking that next year I will come back early to take part in the show, if there were a similar show.

After attending the sessions held by school and parties held by student guild, I made a few friends. Even though some of my friends are not in the course as I am, which means we may not be able to see each other everyday, we still meet at weekend having lunch or going shopping together. I feel that the 'International Welcome Week' help me make really good friends.

My Accommodation Photos

kitchen 1

kitchen 2

kitchen 3

kitchen 4

kitchen 5

kitchen 6

room 1

room 2

room 3

Arriving at Aston

I arrived at Aston on 20th September last year. It was a sunny day, which surprised me, as I thought the weather in the UK tended to be cloudy and wet (it is proved to be true later).

We took a coach from London to Birmingham. I remembered that I was so tired and a bit worried, since I brought a lot of stuff. I had no idea how I could take my luggage into my room by myself. It was so sweet to see that some second and final years students were waiting for us and helping us to settle in when the coach arrived at the university. They were wearing yellow shirts with a piece of paper on it. The paper included their names, pictures and societies that they belong to. All of them were friendly, which makes me feel less worried.

The student who helped me when I arrived was a final year student and her name is Hannah. She is British and she was very friendly. She first helped me to get my keys from the meeting room on the ground floor of Laurence Tower. Then, she took two biggest suitcases and directed me to my room -- Bishop Ryder House. Most students do not prefer to living in a low-rise house. However, I love it. Low-rise houses make me feel about culture. I used to living in tower for many years; therefore, I felt that I were really studying abroad when I got in my room. (By the way, this year students will not have the chance to live in low-rise houses, as all the houses will be pulled down, which I think is a shame.) The photos of my room will be posted shortly, as I need some time to clean it.