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I was at a temple festival, in the countryside outside Vientiane. The villagers had arrived with gifts in kind and food for the festivities, which were laid out on tables outside. Then, the whole population entered the chapel (bot) for the ceremony. All, except these four novices, that is, who had been left on duty to guards the contributions. I can’t imagine any bad guy wanting to take on these four tough guys. However, I asked them what they would do if a thief came. The looked confused. They obviously hadn’t thought about that. I asked them if they were good a fighting and they shook their heads. Then, the one at the back, on the right said, “We are not good a fighting, but be are good a screaming”. So, I guess the contributions had been left in safe hands.