In some (more catholic) regions in Germany you spend a (voluntary) week in a monastery during school - called Besinnungstage (loosely translated as “mindfulness

In some (more catholic) regions in Germany you spend a (voluntary) week in a monastery during school - called Besinnungstage (loosely translated as “mindfulness days”). I went and thought I would hate it at the time - mostly because I really really hated the narrow catholic mindset i grew up in at that time - but it actually was a really profound experience that I think back to often. The life the monks led was simple, almost primitive, but it radiated a contentment and mindfulness that was inspiring. Also the brotherhood and love they had for each other. Of course I only saw the surface and as a teenager I didn’t appreciate a lot of the lessons, but looking back it was one of the better parts of being in a heavily catholic coded school. Edit: also my religion teacher told the story how we was a monk in his early life and then left everything behind when he fell in love with a woman - which immensely increased my respect for him. I though he was this dried up, humourless pendant, so finding out he had this great passion in his life was a great surprise to me