a meditation retreat

while we were trekking in nepal, layna and i got to know a couple of brits, nikki and ray...one day, as we were all standing around at the top of our acclimatization day hike, they mentioned a meditation retreat they had done several years ago...i don't know what brought it into the conversation, but layna and i wanted to know as much as possible...after that, we talked regularly about doing this retreat ourselves...i was finally able to do it, in september, toward the end of the trip...
the retreat starts on the 1st of each month, and there is no advance registration...you simply show up the last day of the previous month and register...so i did, on 31 august...during registration i was interviewed by one of the monks who would be talking during the retreat, as well as read the rules for the retreat, paid my (ridiculously small) fees, found my room and set myself up...
during this retreat, everyone has their own room...everyone sleeps on a cement bed that is covered with a simple mat, and a wooden pillow...(i slept like a rock, the entire time!)...electricity is on in the dorms only about 5 hours a day...two hours in the morning, and three hours in the evening...there is no talking, no eye contact...no communication with each other...no cameras, no writing other than to take notes during the dhamma talks, no leaving retreat property...(well, you can, but you don't get to come back...at least 20 people left over the course of the retreat...when i noticed that someone wasn't there anymore, i was dying to know why they'd left, but that information obviously wasn't given out)...i thought no talking would be difficult for me, but it wasn't...the most difficult part for me was not having any dairy...we ate only twice a day, which i thought would be a challenge, but wasn't...the food was good, and there was plenty...

 this is the daily schedule we followed...
0400 - morning wakeup bell
0430 - morning reading
0445-0515 - sitting meditation
0515-0645 - mindfulness through motion
0700-0800 - morning talk by the abbott or more sitting meditation
0800 - breakfast
1000-1100 - sitting meditation or listening to a translated dhamma talk
1100-1145 - walking/standing meditation
1145-1230 - sitting meditation
1230 - lunch
1430-1530 - dhamma talk, usually by the british monk, or sitting meditation
1530-1615 - walking/standing meditation
1615-1700 - sitting meditation
1700-1800 - chanting in pali (the language of the buddha)
1800 - tea time
1930-2000 - sitting meditation
2000-2030 - group walking meditation
2030-2100 - sitting meditation
2130 - lights out
i won't go on and on to describe things, because it think this is an experience you have to have for yourself...it wasn't enjoyable, that's the wrong word to use...but i loved it, and definitely want to go back someday for another retreat...i've heard that your second retreat is far more difficult than your first!