Brazilians must love blue eyes. I'm always getting comments on mine, but more often than not, I'm at a loss as to whether the comment is meant as a compliment, as an expression of disgust, or something else.

Instead of hissing at a stranger on the street, or leaning close as you walk by to leer, or excitedly come up to share with me the surprising fact that my eyes are the same color they have always been...men of Rio, perhaps you could follow the lead of the charming elderly gentleman in the cheese store today who tapped me on the arm and said, "Excuse me, but may I compliment you?"

May I compliment you? I think I melted right in the middle of ordering my Minas cheese.

Well. When you ask so nicely, what choice do I have but to say yes? (This method has the added benefit of not being creepy or rude.) Now, you can say, as he did, "You have lovely eyes."

And you will get a thank you instead of the withering look your mother used to give you when you left your dirty underwear on the bathroom floor when company came to visit. See? Isn't that nicer?