Americans love convenience. We love to move. We love to eat and drink. So, by the associative property, we love convenient ways to eat and drink things while we move. Americans get everything possible "to go," buy fancy containers to sip hot (and cold) beverages while on the go, and have reduced meal times to the amount of time it takes to fill up a to-go container and run to the car. Why waste all that time sitting and eating when you could be doing something/going somewhere/talking to someone/buying something/checking your email while eating and drinking. And are there any doubts why we lead the world economy?

Russia, on the other hand, isn't so convenience-oriented. The idea of filling up a motor mug with coffee or tea and setting off to get something done is, well, unheard of. I can only imagine the concerned/perplexed/annoyed stares I would get on the bus if I was sipping on some coffee during my morning commute. For Russians, having tea or coffee is more of a ritual, involving sitting, waiting, eating overly sweet little candies, and gossiping. The same goes for food. Russians might derisively acknowledge that businessmen in Moscow mindlessly quaff coffee but point out that it's not something the average Russian living in "real" Russia would do. So I try to blend in and pretend that I too can do my morning commute without a nice cup of coffee, but I'm starting to have dangerous thoughts. Maybe on my next trip to Moscow I'll buy a motor mug at Starbucks and set about shocking Vladimir by enjoying coffee on the bus. Maybe I'll start a new trend.