When you picture a day at Blenheim Palace, you might imagine grand halls, manicured gardens, and a crash course in British history. For a group of CNU students studying abroad this summer, it was all that—plus one very determined duck.
The day began with an early bus ride and a stroll through the palace gardens, where the group stumbled into an unexpected adventure. After politely refusing to share their lunches, the students found themselves trailed by a growing flock of ducks. Eventually, one bird refused to leave my side, following me so faithfully that it earned a name: Reginald Duckington—Reggie, for short.
Reggie thought I was his mom. I even shouted, ‘I am not your mother!’ but he just kept following me. Needless to say, Reggie quickly became the trip’s unofficial mascot even if one student, who shall not be named, accidentally kicked him on our way out of the gardens.
The rest of the palace grounds offered plenty of enchantment of a more traditional kind. The students admired temples dedicated to Roman goddesses Diana and Flora, wandered through a butterfly garden full of 22 species, and explored a rose garden straight out of a painting. Inside Blenheim, they marveled at the room where Winston Churchill was born, as well as displays of royal wedding gowns and Red Cross uniforms.
But Churchill himself wasn’t left behind at Blenheim. The next big stop on our itinerary was London’s Churchill War Rooms, a self-guided audio tour through the underground bunker where Britain’s wartime leaders once strategized. Between startling each other through glass partitions and joking about “witch powers” (apparently gingers are rare in Oxford), the students managed to balance history with humor.
I asked some of the people that went with me what they thought about these experiences. Austin Fortier said, “I think getting real experience for the first time outside of a textbook or videos was game changing. Seeing first hand where Churchill and his officers had to bunker down for months on end and seeing it with my own eyes helped me appreciate the work they did for their nation”
Jeremy Jordan said, “I had an amazing time wandering the war rooms in London. As a computer science major I appreciated learning how the war forced America and Britain to lay telephone lines through the ocean.”
Michael Messeh told me, “Walking through Blenheim and the War Rooms gave me a deeper appreciation for how leadership under pressure requires courage and vision. It challenged me to think about the kind of leader I want to become in moments of difficulty.”
Whether exploring the birthplace of a prime minister or joking about melting in the rain, we walked away with more than just facts and photos—we collected stories worth retelling. And while Churchill may have shaped the course of history, it’s safe to say that Reggie the duck made his mark on our study abroad adventure.
