DIRT Russian Style

I have never experienced dirt like the dirt in Moscow and St. Petersburg. When I first arrived my Aunt Zhenya told me (translated by Mark), “We wash our hands before dinner here.” So, dutifully, I washed my hands. I didn’t really think much of it. I try to remember to do the same at home. But, as the days went by, I realized the washing the hands thing is no joke. Every time I washed my hands, especially after coming in from walking around town, taking the Metro, etc. I would have gray suds. To get clean would take a good 30 seconds of washing. I wonder if they get sick less there due to washing their hands more often? The benefit of dirt?
I started to see that my hands weren’t the only thing getting dirty. My clothes, my shoes, my purse (pretty much destroyed – I am hoping it can be washed, but with pink leather I have my doubts), my hair, my face. You get the idea.
This is part of why people take off their shoes when they come in the door. Every home has a collection of slippers for guests to wear when they come over. I really get it. Most days my shoes were covered in dirt and dust when I came home from sight-seeing. I was giving Galia a hard time in St. Petersburg because each time before leaving the apartment she would brush her shoes off. I would joke with her that they would just get dirty again. I couldn’t persuade her, so eventually I started doing it as well. It seemed like a good idea to maybe make my shoes last a little longer?
During the day my hair would eventually begin to feel like it was plastered with dirt. Nothing was clean on my body except maybe my feet, because they had been covered with socks and shoes most of the day. Every night when I showered, I could feel the dirt and grime slowly washing off me, layer by layer.
How is it that it is so dirty there? Why have I never noticed anything like it in Mexico or other places I have traveled? Having pondered this I came up with a couple of hypotheses… In Mexico I am usually not wearing nearly as many clothes. And the clothes that I am wearing are smaller, less fabric. The shoes I wear are mostly flip-flops and don’t collect as much dust and dirt. Most of the places I have visited have less industrial made filth as well as dirt created by autos. Room service can do wonders for dirt! Maybe it isn’t as dirty?