This is the 'face-saving' way, of course, and it's something I have got used to though it still leaves me flabergasted when it happens. The question remains, was anyone going to call us and say, "Don't go to Red Flag Square this evening, despite me telling you the show was on"? How about: "Don't bother preparing your performance because you won't actually be there"? That's right, we were supposed to be presenting a Simao slideshow to music, until yesterday, when we happened to decide to make it a separate event. Thank goodness we changed our mind. It seems that keeping quiet and pretending a problem doesn't exist is often preferable, here, to acknowledging the pink elephant that is staring everyone in the face. To me, more 'face' is lost by apparently 'misleading' [I accept this perspective is culturally relative] someone or showing lack of responsibility than by being open and upfront. Many people have said to me over the years that Simao must be a much easier placement than others in China, or other parts of the world. In fact, it's still China and I'm still an international volunteer wading through cultural complexities and quandries in order to get my work done. The deeper one tries to go, the harder it can become. I just haven't given up yet and I may, finally, be managing to let some things just wash over me and be forgiving of this new (and sometimes challenging, to me) way of doing things. What's certain is that I still have so much to learn about Chinese culture.