One of the preconceptions I had of Brazilians before I arrived in the country was of laid back, happy go lucky, samba dancing, beach going, fun loving folk who don’t worry much about time but prefer to enjoy their quality of life rather than worry about things like work.

I’m sure that there are many Brazilians which fit this description but my experience in São Paulo has also showed me that the ‘Paulista’ works hard, loves money, gets very stressed and can be incredibly, incredibly selfish.

For a good example of this it is perhaps best to first remind you of the good old British obsession with personal space. This essentially means that no-one should come closer to oneself than an arms length unless they intend on engaging in sexual intercourse or are participating in a contact sport such as rugby or Greco-Roman wrestling.

A subliminal side effect of this…