First of, I'd like to correct an erroneous impression which I may have given. I am not a monk. I'm not even a novice anymore. I spent three years as a novice at Glorious Ascension Monastery in Georgia and, due to reasons of bad health, had to forego the monastic vocation. It is my fervent desire to resume where I left off and perhaps that will be granted to be some day, God willing.
Now, let me say this about the monastic life. The description given above is generally accurate. However, there is a certain amount of euphoria associated with the experience initially. One cannot help it. To be immersed in that sort of life is a most unworldly and joyous experience. It can be tempered initially however, by the amazing amount of time spent at worship services (depending on the monastery). They say that the Russian Orthodox have legs of iron and you may discover that reality sooner than you might expect. At our monastery we followed the full monastic rota of prayer and for me, especially with my chronic health issues, it was never an easy experience. However, it was always a joyous one.
There is not a whole lot that I can add to what was posted above other than to say that like any other living situation, it has its ups and downs. Some days we feel better physically and emotionally than others. Some days we feel closer to God than at others. All of this makes for life pretty much just as anywhere else. What makes it special is that one has the support of the fellow monks and especially one's abbot and one's confessor if they are not one and the same. Also, there is definitely a great advantage to not being in contact with the world. The distractions that the world throws at our attempts at achieving our salvation simply cannot be appreciated until you spend a good amount of time away from it at a monastery.
The best advice I can give is this. Take what was written by Paradosis and examine your desire in it's light. You will be giving up your self-will. Obedience, even more than prayer, can be the lifeblood of a monk. Anyone can pray. To surrender yourself to the will of another is a whole other situation. To borrow from Holy Scripture, if you cannot be obedient to him who you can see, how, then, will you be obedient to Him Whom you cannot see? You see my point. The monastic life is one of surrender of self. This will be even harder when you surrender your will to someone with whom you are in constant contact and whose sins and shortcoming will be all too evident and which the enemy will use to attack you with. After all, why should you be obedient to such a transparently sinful and imperfect Abbott? You see my point? This will be the hardest thing you have ever done and you will be having to labor against an enemy who will be enraged by your attempt and will do all he can to derail you.
With all of this in mind, try it if you wish. Chances are that you will only benefit from the experience even if you decide against it. In my opinion, every Orthodox Christian should spend an extended period of time as a working guest in a monastery at the very least.
I cannot help but pray for your success. In these horrid times in which we live, we certainly need all the strength, of which, monasteries and monastics are such a wondrous source .
