DR. WALLACE: I am an American student who spent a month in the summer of '19 in Ireland. While I was there, I was shocked to note the amount of alcohol that was consumed by the locals! Those folks sure enjoyed their brew, ale and whiskey. I always thought that Americans were the biggest consumers of alcohol, but now I'm not so sure. Which countries have the reputation of enjoying their drinking the most? Oh, by the way, I'm asking for a friend. — Curious About Consumption, via email

CURIOUS ABOUT CONSUMPTION: Actually, the United States is one of the lower alcohol-consuming nations when compared with other nations across the seas. In many European nations, alcohol is part of the "family tradition" — beer in Germany, wine in Italy and France, vodka in Russia, and a bit of everything in Ireland.

The Finns were once large consumers of alcohol. According to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare: "Total consumption of alcoholic drinks in Finland increased by 350% between the start of the 1960s and 2007. At its high point, alcohol consumption was at 12.7 litres for every person aged 15 or over. Since then, alcohol consumption has decreased by nearly one fifth."

In such a northern climate, there are some very cold seasons, and it's possible the locals there have a preferred way to keep warm and pass the long dark winters with the assistance of their favorite drinks.

THIS PEST CONTINUES ONLINE NOW

DR. WALLACE: I'm 13, and I usually get very, very good grades in school. Yes, I wear glasses, and I look like a stereotypical "bookworm." My story started back in the days gone by when we used to actually go into classrooms at our public school to learn the subjects together with our classmates. So, last fall, in one of my classes, the boy who sat behind me would bug me constantly. He pulled my hair lightly, but enough to be irritating. He'd write on my homework papers in pencil, and he would even untie my shoelaces on my shoes on the days I wore sneakers to class.

You might think he was flirting with me, but the reality is that he was mad at me because I wouldn't let him cheat whenever our class took a test. He was always trying to see my answers by looking over my shoulder at my paper, and I even heard him whisper to me a few times something like, "Hey, what's the answer to question number eight?" I would just ignore him back then, and I think that drove him crazy because he's kind of a pretty boy who used to get a lot of attention in the quad at lunchtime from the other students.

I even asked the teacher to change my seat because of his obvious immaturity, but the teacher said she had a policy not to change seats once they were assigned at the beginning of the semester.

Well, fast-forward in time to what is soon to be the fall semester of 2020, when we likely are going to have to attend school online. I've already been getting emails from him asking if we can be study partners for this upcoming school year because he knows I'm smart and it will be really hard for him to keep up. What can I do to put distance between this obnoxious boy and me? I'm beyond fed up with him. — A Girl Who Just Wants To Study in Peace, via email

STUDY IN PEACE: Have your mother or father contact your teacher at the beginning of this new school year to ask her to make sure this young man gets more of her attention, because you can't be expected to spend your time helping him. It's the teacher's responsibility to assist all students to the best of his or her ability, not yours.

You don't have to feel pressured or obligated to spend a portion of your own personal study time remotely assisting a boy who was less than compatible when he sat next to you last year.

I trust your teacher will have the skills and resources to help him directly. No student should ever be subjected to constant annoyance, be it in person or over the internet. Be polite but firm with this boy, and tell him that your teacher will be happy to get him the extra help he needs.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: JESHOOTS-com at Pixabay