I built a couple of roads in Afghanistan. We would always go to the next village the road would pass through, meet with the elders, and explain who we were and what we were doing. It was always standard to ask if there was anything else we could do. In one village the elder said "No, you come you build your road, you leave. We don't want your religion or your culture." That is a bit of a paraphrase, but generally accurate. That is not too far from the feeling you are describing. Human nature is pretty standard across the species even if what we want is not always the same.
Bookmarks