Your English is impressive. It is hard to fathom that you have never lived in US and can use English so well. I am originally from Belarus, was born during USSR and have been living in US for 14 yrs. You are very well educated. I am a female. Have you noticed that our people ( I still look at all the Soviet countries as one LOL) are more serious and not as outgoing/cheerful as westerners? I am married to an American and even though I am more outgoing than an average Russian person, I still get comments about me being too serious. Sometimes when I work with someone who associates with Americans only at work and comes otherwise from Russian family, even I notice that that person can be too straightforward, borderline rude, and unfriendly from first impression. I do not mean to say that our people are bad people, just that they sometimes lack social skills. Have you ever noticed that? Even my husband asked me visiting Belarus, why everyone looks angry. I never thought that way and after that comment I started watching it and noticed we do not smile as much as westerners. What do you think about this?