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***I suspect they are playing the noble innocent savage to get away with stuff, just like my Chinese rooming housemates pretended to not understand any English and smiled and nodded a lot.***

Your post reminded me of a time in the early 80s when I worked in a micro lab. There was a visiting Chinese researcher that sometimes used the equipment in my lab. He, like everyone, was supposed to sign up for times when he might need it to use it ahead of time, so that we could avoid scheduling conflicts. He was told repeatedly what to do, by many of us, with demonstrations of signing the ledger, etc. He smiled and nodded every time, yet repeatedly used the equipment without signing up ahead of time, or even signing in when using it right away.

One time I’d had enough when I was in the middle of an experiment, and was using the equipment. I had to leave the room for a few minutes, I don’t remember why now, but it was probably to check progress on another test in a different room. When I got back, he had taken my materials out of the machine, set them on a nearby counter, and his were in it instead. I was so steamed! Several days of experimental results went down the drown with his thoughtlessness!

He was no where to be found, but someone had seen him walk into our lab with materials, and left empty-handed. I tracked him down, brought him back to my lab, showed him what the problem was, and pretty much yelled and screamed at him for several minutes. He kept saying “sorry!” over and over, and bowing his head. The next day, he brought me a very intricate silk scarf as an apology. I told him I couldn’t accept it, but then my boss told me I should, to keep the peace.

He must have figured out that time why it was important to sign up ahead of time, because he always seemed to do it correctly after that.