Given your struggles I think it is perfectly acceptable to translate something he doesn't understand into something he does... i.e. if he doesn't get "you don't like crowds" if you need to back out you can do so because you're "still getting over your cold". Just my opinion... But I don't know why people need to "understand" when all they need to do is respect your words and choices.

Sorry, pet peeve of mine. Hope it goes well tomorrow.