[DaniJ]

I had heard a lot of rumors about the drinking issues in Russia, even to the extent that it was considered *rude* to turn down a drink, and EVERYBODY drank the hard stuff and it was wierd not to drink while there. (of course this concerned me because I was preg. when I went!)
What I found was that people seemed pretty much like us. Alchohol was available, but not being imbibed out on the street corners, as we had envisioned, and we never saw anyone drunk or even drinking other than in the restaraunt.
So, here is the question: is it possible that when Russia initally opened it's doors to international adoption, there was perhaps a lot more alcohol use across the board, and indeed most children had been exposed, and those are the families the books were written about; but now that information has flooded the country for nearly 20 years, there is less generalized drinking, and perhaps more educated mothers, so we aren't seeing it as much? Just a thought. I am be totally off-base on this.

danielle