Here’s an in-progress list of travel tips that is being compiled on a different Oxbridger’s blog. They are ideas from several students. I’ll update the list as the year progresses. It’s for the benefit of future Oxbridgers, particularly the future music students at Homerton. Enjoy! :)
TIPS
1. Bring athletic clothes. If you don’t, Primark is a pretty cheap place to get clothes.
2. Buy an open-return bus ticket when you get a ticket from Heathrow. it’s only four pounds more and is another whole ticket.
3. If you’re a musician, be fully prepared to audition, audition, audition, as soon as you step off the plane. And if you’re at Homerton, ignore what your DOS says and be sure to audition outside the college itself if you want more performance opportunities. You have to self-promote.
4. There is a Chipotle in London on Charring Cross Road. At any given time, there are more Americans in this Chipotle than anywhere else in England. Sadly, the Nanna Mexico place in Cambridge is NOT a reliable substitute for Chipotle.
5. If you plan on using the trains or National Express buses more than three times or so, investigate a 16-25 travelcard. You can get sweet fare discounts!
6. Buy your fares between Oxford and Cambridge on the X5 from megabus.com. Cheap fares!
7. If you live in Cambridge, the Sainsbury’s across from Sidney Sussex is by far the best-stocked and cheapest grocery. However, they don’t have stick pretzels. For that, go to M&S. :)
8. Play nice with the people who clean your rooms. They are incredibly kind people AND sometimes they have puppies that they will let you play with.
9. Get used to the fire alarm. You’ll be hearing it quite frequently.
10. Budget for laundry – not cheap!
11. Hope you like to play dress up, because you’ll need a costume at least twelve times during your year abroad. :)
12. Always say yes to free food.
13. When at formal hall at Homerton, do take the leftover wine sitting on the table – it’s worth the dirty looks.
14. DO open a bank account over here. It’s FREE to open a student account and you can avoid getting charged ridiculous fees for drawing money out of British ATMS. Also, the debit card will have a micro chip, which is important because you can’t use American debit cards as freely because they don’t have them. You might think it’s a bit of a hassle to set it up, but it really isn’t and it is completely worth it. I would suggest Lloyd’s TSB, just because there are so many of them. England will be expensive enough without you having to pay your bank stupid fees. :)
Here’s another: wash your damn dishes. And throw out your rancid meat and moldy cake. Students here actually use the community kitchen, so God help you if you are responsible for the revolting smell.
And another: porters mean business when it comes to fire drills. As does the entirety of England (“Fire Door. Keep Shut.” EVERYwhere.)
And another: …but this could be understandable, seeing as how we’ve already experienced a fire (or, you know, toaster smoke extravaganza). What a life.
Say, did any of you pack a safety kit? Something from the American Red Cross even? Your place and experiences sound exciting and yet one needs to be prepared for…danger.