changing

Where is the line of working in a developing country to help them or to help yourself or to help them become more like you? many different things drive me crazy here…from having to greet everyone individually when you walk into a room, to them barely knocking so it is easy to either not hear or ignore, to agreeing with what you say with no intention of doing what was agreed. So I walk in to a room and don’t know everyone and asking the same question over and over and over and answering over and over and over…it just doesn’t seem to stop but can I just walk in and say an overall greeting? I have started doing that but is that changing their culture to suit me? Or will it really not change anything…
The knocking I find even worse…there is a little tap and I just know that (if I hear it) it is probably someone begging or here to sell something that I really don’t need because they come every week to sell rope or mats for the floor or hot pads—and how often do you really go through those things…so I would love to just ignore it…but then my conscience gets the better of me but then I am a bit resentful. And granted sometimes I do buy from them but it is frustrating. And then there are the workers—both the housekeeper and the gardener do the same knock…and if I have music playing (which I often do) I really don’t hear the tap at the door. And I have told them to really knock so that I hear (because them I really do want to talk to or let in or whatever)…but once again is this forcing my culture on them?
And the agreement thing is often a desire to be agreeable…very cultural. They don’t want to disappoint—I guess not realizing that it is much more disappointing to be told something will happen when it (deliberately) won’t. (I was “warned” about this phenomena before coming) but often doesn’t make it any easier to remember or understand.