Well VM I guess when I was in St. Petersburg I should have taken you up on that "charming" invitation you sent to my message box (darn I can't find the barfing smiley). We could have gone to tea so you could demonstrate for me how Russians don't put sugar (or sweetened lemons) in their tea.
Now if you can just convince all of my Russian relatives and guests to stop pouring so much sugar in their tea I could save a few rubles and have more room in my pantry!
And I don't remember seeing people drinking beer on the St Peterburg metro but in Moscow it is a daily ritual (along with riders kicking the empty bottles that roll around the car).
And as for parenting, I don't tell people of other cultures how to raise their kids in their own country.