[villedepommes]

I agree with pretty much everything what you've said here!

> I much prefer to try to get us to speak in our own languages, even if it requires effort.

Also, when it does work, we'd get to experience the glimpse of the sense of some shared heritage (e.g. cultural, historical, etc) and at the same time we'd feel good about the uniqueness and differences of our own languages/cultures.

> Otherwise, I prefer to speak Russian if the person I'm communicating with knows it too.

If someone spoke Russian to me, I'd be a) very flattered and b) try accommodating them with their effort as much as possible.