In this story by Witthayakon Chiangkun, a busload of enthusiastic Bangkok college students descend upon an isolated, poverty-stricken rice farming village as part of a 1960s national community development program. Despite their best efforts, differences in speech, dress and perceived social class make integration difficult. They have been sent during their school vacation to build a Community Hall, something the contented villagers neither asked for or need. Apart from the narrator, a young teen, the Hall’s only users are water-buffaloes seeking shelter from the sun. Themes include identity, innocence, city vs. country cultural divide, politicization, benevolence, bureaucratic disconnection.
The story was written in 1968. Although poor, the villagers lead a peaceful, contented life with little connection with the outside world. The “Masters” (government officials) make few demands and largely leave them alone.
Five years later, thanks to rising communist insurgency, Northern Thailand was a very different place. This led Lao Khamhom, the county’s best-known short story writer of the day, to write a loosely based sequel, You’ll Learn Soon Enough, featuring the same village and central characters.