As I chatted with friends in a party, last week, about the (sometimes rude) compliments shouted by construction workers to women passing by, we concluded they are a thing of the past, a myth, something you’re more likely to see on film and tv than in real life. Well, we were wrong.

Today, as I was walking by a construction site nearby, I was deeply offended by one of the guys.

- Good afternoon - he said politely. - You have very pretty eyes, madam!

Madam?! A senhora?! Really??? I’m shocked!

(I did thank him, though. A compliment is a compliment, after all…)