I've been here for one full week. I was supposed to leave this morning, but I decided to take up the monks' invitation to stay until Sunday because of the fire interruption. Some monks are already suggesting I "extend" my stay even longer! I feel like I've experienced quite a range of events here outside of the normal daily/weekly monastic life. But maybe that's part of it - to deal with the unexpected.

On top of the fire and the arrival of the Plum Village monks, a new group of guests arrived this evening (guest stays always start on Fridays), so I'm even experiencing what it feels like for a fresh group of guests to arrive. Last week, it was me, and this happens year round. All of the guests who arrived today are here just for the weekend. A bunch are college students, who, my guess is, are experiencing mindful awareness for the first time. And, of course, they're not very good at it, everything seems strange and funny to them. I gathered it was a professor that suggested it to them and they thought it would be a neat idea, having no idea what to expect. Fair enough, everyone is welcome, everyone needs to start somewhere.

Otherwise today was pretty ordinary, except with having the new monks helping out. In the afternoon, I drove into town to get money, because when I leave on Sunday, I want to be able to just get on the road and go. It's mental. It turned out to be an unnecessary excursion because all the ATMs are drive-thru, so it would have been just that easy to get money when I left on Sunday.

Evening sitting was cancelled (see?!), and there was a "Halloween tea" held that I didn't go to. The new guest orientation was held in the Meditation Hall, so I read in the Tea Room until they were done, and then did my sitting.