Hello from Plum Village - It took me a week to find out how to get on the Internet here: walk 30 minutes to Upper Hamlet, find out when the bookstore is open, buy ticket for wifi use for 2 hours. Voila!
Plum Village was est. in 1982 by Thich Nhat Hanh (known as Thay) and his community. There are 4 hamlets and several nearby houses called gites. I was assigned to Lower Hamlet, which is for families speaking certain languages and all single women. It is also the monastery for their sisters or women monks. Last week was the third week of the four week summer retreat and I will be also staying the fourth and last week. Today is the day for departures and arrivals so I have some free time. The Lower Hamlet (LH) is smaller and more intimate than the Upper Hamlet (UH) and has many more women so there is a different energy as you might imagine. Thay gives 4 talks each week: 2 at UH and one each at LH and New Hamlet.
This is a very new retreat/monastic setting for me. It differs from the contemplative, Zen, Vipassana, and others I have experienced. There are times of noble silence but also much laughter and singing and always the shouts of children. As was explained to us at the New Moon fete on Wednesday, Vietnamese culture considers children to be closer to the "source of all" - so children pretty well have the run of the place. At 87, Thay only wants to be surrounded by children. I feel it is because they do not want anything from him, as do we adults. Though every day is a bit different, a "typical day" is to rise at 5:30 for meditation at 6:00, breakfast at 7, get to place for talk, talk at 9:30, walking meditation with Thay at 11:45, dinner at 1:00, rest till 4:30, working meditation ie, chores (I have recycling), silent supper with family at 6:15, dharma sharing with family at 8, walking meditation at 9:30, lights out at 10, but many days I stay to listen to one of the sisters chant in Vietnamese and ring the huge bell until 10:30. A very full schedule and it has reached over 100 degrees here with high humidity and no fans except hand ones. But I love it all!

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