Durante el examen oral, no quiero quedarme en blanco.

It is a very common Spanish idiom meaning to go blank, especially mentally.

In this sentence, no quiero quedarme en blanco means:

• I don’t want to go blank
• I don’t want my mind to go blank
• I don’t want to freeze and forget everything

Literally, it looks like to remain myself in white, but you should treat it as a fixed expression, not translate it word for word.

Because the verb here is the reflexive form quedarse, not plain quedar.

• quedar can mean things like to remain, to be left, to arrange to meet, depending on context.
• quedarse often means to end up staying, to become left in a state, or in this idiom, to go blank.

So:

• quedar en blanco is not the normal expression here
• quedarse en blanco is the idiomatic one

The me means myself, but in English we usually do not translate it directly.

In Spanish, with a conjugated verb + infinitive, object and reflexive pronouns can often go in two places:

• No quiero quedarme en blanco
• No me quiero quedar en blanco

Both are correct.

Attaching the pronoun to the infinitive is very common and often feels neat and natural. So quedarme is just quedar + me.

Because the subject is the same in both parts: I.

• Quiero quedarme = I want to go blank / I want to stay
• No quiero quedarme = I don’t want to go blank

Spanish normally uses:

• querer + infinitive when the subject stays the same

You use quiero que + subjunctive when the subject changes:

• Quiero que tú hables = I want you to speak

Here, the speaker is talking about their own action/state, so the infinitive is the right choice.

Durante means during.

• Durante el examen oral = during the oral exam

It introduces a time period.

Mientras means while, and it usually introduces a clause with a verb:

• Mientras hago el examen... = While I’m doing the exam...

So in this sentence, durante is the natural choice because it is followed by a noun phrase:

• el examen oral

Because in Spanish, adjectives usually come after the noun.

So:

• examen oral = oral exam
• clase práctica = practical class
• prueba escrita = written test

Putting oral before the noun would sound wrong here.

The comma separates the introductory time phrase from the main clause:

• Durante el examen oral,
• no quiero quedarme en blanco.

This is similar to English punctuation in sentences like:

• During the interview, I didn’t want to panic.

In Spanish, that comma is very natural, though in some short sentences punctuation can vary a bit. Here, it helps clarity.

Yes, literally blanco means white, so en blanco literally means in white or blank.

But in this expression, en blanco means blank, as in:

• a blank page
• a blank answer
• a blank mind

So quedarse en blanco gives the idea that your mind becomes empty, as if nothing is written on it.

In this expression, it stays blanco.

That is because en blanco is a fixed phrase. It is not really describing the gender of the speaker; it is part of the idiom.

So you say:

• Me quedé en blanco
• Se quedó en blanco
• No quiero quedarme en blanco

regardless of whether the speaker is male or female.

It can be used in many situations where someone suddenly cannot think of what to say or do.

For example:

• En la entrevista me quedé en blanco.
  I went blank in the interview.
• Cuando me preguntó mi número, me quedé en blanco.
  When he asked me my number, my mind went blank.
• Subí al escenario y me quedé en blanco.
  I went on stage and froze / went blank.

So it is very common with:

• exams
• presentations
• interviews
• speeches
• stressful conversations

You could, but it is not exactly the same.

• quedarme en blanco = to go blank, often suddenly, in the moment
• olvidarlo todo = to forget everything

Quedarse en blanco sounds more idiomatic and more natural for a stressful moment in an oral exam. It suggests a mental freeze.

Compare:

• No quiero quedarme en blanco.
  I don’t want to go blank.
• No quiero olvidarlo todo.
  I don’t want to forget everything.

The second is understandable, but the first is the more natural expression here.

Yes, it sounds very natural in Spain.

A native speaker in Spain would easily say:

• Durante el examen oral, no quiero quedarme en blanco.

Other natural variations might be:

• En el examen oral, no quiero quedarme en blanco.
• No quiero quedarme en blanco durante el examen oral.

All of these sound normal. The original sentence is clear, correct, and idiomatic.