...so said Timon in the Lion King... Well, it hasn't really started yet... but the first steps have been made and as they say "All super-long-@$$ journeys start with a single step" (paraphrasing). Let me go back.
I must thank Meera, my good friend and across-the-hall mate in the "transfer" dorm at Cal. She decided to go to Sussex and suggested that I go. I looked into it and thought it sounded great. I'd never been out of the country and why the heck not go for it, ya know? We planned to travel around before the program start date (June 27th), but in the end, I couldn't swing the cash and had to bail. She just left on Saturday and is now taking in the glory of Europe...without me. Lucky her. And so the big, I dunno, pebble in my shoe...the big cow in the middle of the road for this trip was and continues to be money. First of all, the issue of a plane ticket. Though the cost of a plane ticket is budgeted in my financial aid, I won't get that money until 10 days before the trip. I had to come up with that cash on my own. Oh well :::Chiq buffs nails on her shirt::: I'll just get more money through financial aid. :::BUZZER sound::: What's that? I can't appeal my summer budget? Um, well... :::Chiq buffs nails on her shirt::: I'll just work during summer... What is that "Main Job"? Only 12 hours a week? Oh! Well, I guess I'll just quit and temp full-time and laugh my @$$ all the way to the bank! Ha! :::BUZZER sound::: What, no? No full-time work for me? Ugh! Basically, my perfect plan could not be put into action and my money sitch has been the thorn in my side. I considered backing out, but it's too late and I knew it'd all be worth it in the end.
During this time, I've been back and forth over StudentUniverse.com and Lowestfare.com looking for cheap flights. One obstacle is the fact that the major London airport is London Heathrow (LHR). If you go to the Univ of Sussex website and look for directions from LHR to the campus, they tell you that it's difficult to get from LHR ot the campus and you should just fly into London Gatwick (LGW), then they proceed to give you directions from Gatwick. That's not very encouraging. Students from the program suggest the same idea as LHR is about 2 hours from campus, which won't be fun after a 13 hour flight and a 10 hour time difference. Last week, I looked into LGW flights and they were about $800, down $40 from the week before. Unfortunately, I was about $50 short. This morning, I look at flights and they are up about $100. I freak. I transfered some money to my credit card and now I was short on the $950 tickets into LGW. I decide to "Name [My] Own Price" through Lowestfare.com, which is affiliated with Priceline. I checked eopinions.com about Priceline and it's a double-edged situation. On one had, you can save up to 40% on your flight, but they charge you before they give you your itinerary and It's a non-refundable, non-changeable, non-transferable ticket. It's scary because they say international flights leave any time between midnight and midnight and you don't know what carrier you're on (the list the Priceline affiliate airlines, but you could end up on an affiliate of the affiliate). Well, I bit the bullet and purchased and even though I'm flying to and from LHR, I'm much happier with the itinerary than with the other flights I could have chosen from. To be on the safe side (I didn't want to chance arriving at 11 pm the night of the start date!) I decided to fly into London a day early. I will leave SFO at 9 and arrive just before 7 am the day before the start date. When I depart, it'll be 10 am from LHR, arriving in SFO at 1:30 pm. AND I have NO connections. I think my departing flight has a stop (13 hours) and the return is either direct or a quick stop because it's only 11 hours. All the other flights I COULD have chosen each have stops and got me back into SFO after 7pm. I'm so stoked! I'm taking this as a good sign. A United AIrlines flight with an awesome itinerary at a low price. Now I just need to sublet my room...
Classy Chiq