my Facebook page<\/a> for friends who want to see more. <\/p>\n\n\n\nAs we approach the end of our first month in Oxford, I’ve been thinking a lot about a common pattern that can set in with students around this time. During your first couple of weeks in a Study Abroad site, everything is unfamiliar and exciting. You can’t help but want to ramble and explore. But eventually, what is unfamiliar becomes commonplace. You find your favorite coffee shop. You have memorized all of the buildings between the house and City Centre. When confused tourists stop to ask you for directions, you are able to help them with the confidence of a local who has lived here for a lifetime. Because the Study Abroad site has become normal to you, that excitement about exploring a strange, unfamiliar place wanes. As the excitement wanes, students sometimes stop exploring, spending more of their time in the house, watching Youtube videos and binging their favorite American television shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don’t do it! Youtube and Netflix are fine, but think about where you are again! You’ve been in Oxford for a month. You haven’t even scratched the surface of this place. There’s new experiences to be had, new places to be discovered and explored, and new people to meet. Resist the temptation to sequester yourself in familiar space. Push yourself to get uncomfortable<\/em>. Ramble wide and far. Document what you see. Do it for your family, but do it for yourself too. Ten years from now you won’t remember much of that Netflix series you binged. You’ll want to remember that British man you watched an English football match with at the local pub, or the Oxford students you met at St. Aldate’s during the church’s student ministry gathering. Get out of the house! <\/p>\n\n\n\nAnd go to Blenheim. <\/p>\n\n\n\nGo to Blenheim. That’s what we did yesterday. Tara and I traveled with our students to Blenheim Palace, a country house just outside of Oxford that is the seat of the Duke of Marlborough. Built in the early 18th century, the palace is massive: 187 rooms, some of them with soaring vaulted ceilings painted in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":290,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[50,10,11],"class_list":["post-292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blenheim","tag-blenheim","tag-oxford","tag-study-abroad"],"yoast_head":"\n
Advice for Oxford Study Abroad students, both present and future - Thames River Rambler<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Advice for Study Abroad students after a month in Oxford...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Advice for Oxford Study Abroad students, both present and future - Thames River Rambler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Advice for Study Abroad students after a month in Oxford...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Thames River Rambler\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-24T12:23:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-24T12:23:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0500-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"vbm95u\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"vbm95u\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"vbm95u\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#\/schema\/person\/73b7e362660246a96e6fa79d71727775\"},\"headline\":\"Advice for Oxford Study Abroad students, both present and future\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-24T12:23:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-24T12:23:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292\"},\"wordCount\":576,\"commentCount\":4,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0500-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1696&ssl=1\",\"keywords\":[\"Blenheim\",\"oxford\",\"study abroad\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blenheim\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292\",\"name\":\"Advice for Oxford Study Abroad students, both present and future - Thames River Rambler\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0500-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1696&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-24T12:23:33+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-24T12:23:40+00:00\",\"description\":\"Advice for Study Abroad students after a month in Oxford...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0500-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1696&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0500-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1696&ssl=1\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1696},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Advice for Oxford Study Abroad students, both present and future\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/\",\"name\":\"Thames River Rambler\",\"description\":\"An ACU Study Abroad Blog\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Thames River Rambler\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/cropped-cropped-Logo_SA1.png?fit=211%2C208&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/cropped-cropped-Logo_SA1.png?fit=211%2C208&ssl=1\",\"width\":211,\"height\":208,\"caption\":\"Thames River Rambler\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#\/schema\/person\/73b7e362660246a96e6fa79d71727775\",\"name\":\"vbm95u\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/de9f3d0c8a0b9c4da8d78b198afae0d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/de9f3d0c8a0b9c4da8d78b198afae0d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"vbm95u\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Advice for Oxford Study Abroad students, both present and future - Thames River Rambler","description":"Advice for Study Abroad students after a month in Oxford...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Advice for Oxford Study Abroad students, both present and future - Thames River Rambler","og_description":"Advice for Study Abroad students after a month in Oxford...","og_url":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292","og_site_name":"Thames River Rambler","article_published_time":"2022-09-24T12:23:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-09-24T12:23:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1696,"url":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0500-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"vbm95u","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"vbm95u","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292"},"author":{"name":"vbm95u","@id":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#\/schema\/person\/73b7e362660246a96e6fa79d71727775"},"headline":"Advice for Oxford Study Abroad students, both present and future","datePublished":"2022-09-24T12:23:33+00:00","dateModified":"2022-09-24T12:23:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292"},"wordCount":576,"commentCount":4,"publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0500-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1696&ssl=1","keywords":["Blenheim","oxford","study abroad"],"articleSection":["Blenheim"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292","url":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292","name":"Advice for Oxford Study Abroad students, both present and future - Thames River Rambler","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0500-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1696&ssl=1","datePublished":"2022-09-24T12:23:33+00:00","dateModified":"2022-09-24T12:23:40+00:00","description":"Advice for Study Abroad students after a month in Oxford...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0500-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1696&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0500-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1696&ssl=1","width":2560,"height":1696},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?p=292#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Advice for Oxford Study Abroad students, both present and future"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#website","url":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/","name":"Thames River Rambler","description":"An ACU Study Abroad Blog","publisher":{"@id":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#organization","name":"Thames River Rambler","url":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/cropped-cropped-Logo_SA1.png?fit=211%2C208&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/cropped-cropped-Logo_SA1.png?fit=211%2C208&ssl=1","width":211,"height":208,"caption":"Thames River Rambler"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#\/schema\/person\/73b7e362660246a96e6fa79d71727775","name":"vbm95u","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/box5138.temp.domains\/~thamesr4\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/de9f3d0c8a0b9c4da8d78b198afae0d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/de9f3d0c8a0b9c4da8d78b198afae0d4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"vbm95u"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com"],"url":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0500-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1696&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=292"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":294,"href":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions\/294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thamesriverrambler.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0502.jpg?resize=1024%2C678&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thamesriverrambler.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/DSC_0500.jpg?resize=1024%2C678&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"