Eb in England--Update

[Ebony AKA AngieJ]

Two good things have happened in the past 24 hours...

My spring/summer financial aid statement arrived in the mail.  Looks 
like my university thinks summering in England's a grand idea.  And 
I've just booked and purchased my plane ticket! 

Here's my itinerary in brief:

30 June 2001  Leave US (Chicago O'Hare), 5 p.m. Central Time (6 EST)
1 July 2001  Arrive UK (London Heathrow), 7 a.m. GMT

Once I get to London, my luggage and I must get to Oxford.  The 
program coordinators are giving us TOO much information... the only 
thing they told us not to do was to take a cab!  

I quote from our latest memo:

"From Heathrow there are scheduled buses (airport link X80 or X70--
about 9 pounds sterling) to Oxford (about an hour).  If times are 
inconvenient, you may take the subway into Victoria Station in London 
and proceed to the VICTORIA COACH STATION three blocks away to catch 
an Express bus to Oxford (#190), about an hour and a quarter ride.  
If both of these routes are inconvenient for some reason, you can 
take a bus to Reading (pronounced "Redding"), one about every 30 
minutes, that takes you to the Reading Train depot where you can 
catch a quick train to Oxford.  Any of these trips will cost about 
twelve pounds sterling."

WHAT?

(Very Important Note:  The first rule of giving Stupid American 
Tourists directions is this.  DON'T GIVE US TOO MUCH INFORMATION!  My 
body is going to feel like it's 2 a.m. when I get there as it is--I'm 
not a night person--I want the no-brainer route.  And then there's my 
luggage to think of!)

I need suggestions, bit-by-bit details, etc.  Help, please.

After that, I'll be in residence at Corpus Christi College for six 
weeks.  Lectures in the mornings, afternoons will be used for class-
related travel and study, and most evenings and weekends will be free.

On the first Saturday I'm there (7 July) I've opted to take 
an "Ancient Britain" tour with my group--we're going to see 
Stonehenge and a couple other really old places.  

Wednesdays are our group travel days.  We're going to London twice, 
Stratford twice, Bath once, and Warwick Castle once.  Depending upon 
how I feel, I may opt for the 28 July (Sat) group trip to Hampton 
Court Palace as well.

According to our listserv, several group members are planning weekend 
side trips to Edinburgh, Dublin, Paris, Amsterdam... some alumni of 
the Detroit/Oakland Corpus Christi program made it all the way to 
Rome and back last year before class resumed on Monday.  My funds are 
not limitless, so I'm not sure if I can afford to do much traveling 
outside of the UK.  I trust God will let me see Paris and Amsterdam 
in His time... it's not all that pressing.

Other than that, my time is my own.  So these are my questions:

1)  Where can I get my hair braided?  I know I asked this a couple of 
months ago, but now I really need to know.  I can't go six weeks 
without doing my hair.

2)  I've read Neil's advice re: cheap eats.  I need to know the 
cheapest way to buy *everything*... we're on our own on the weekends 
as far as food is concerned, I'm on a budget, and I have a zillion 
souvenirs I must bring back for family and friends.  In addition, 
I'll need to purchase texts and odds and ends like washing powder.  
And your pound seems to beat the stuffing out of our poor dollar... I 
was horrified when I realized that it currently takes $1.60 to make a 
single pound!  

Too bad you guys don't have the equivalent of our big discount 
superstores... I could sure use one this summer.

3)  Any chance of meeting any UK listies?  It's time to make definite 
plans... I've met Penny already, so it's time to meet some more of 
you!

I'll post other stuff as I think of it.  Meanwhile, I'm putting this 
e-group on individual e-mails.

Thanks in advance,

Ebony