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Paris Syndrome

 
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Woland



Joined: 10 May 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:39 pm    Post subject: Paris Syndrome Reply with quote

Have to love this:

PARIS (Reuters) - Around a dozen Japanese tourists a year need psychological treatment after visiting Paris as the reality of unfriendly locals and scruffy streets clashes with their expectations, a newspaper reported on Sunday...

"Fragile travellers can lose their bearings. When the idea they have of the country meets the reality of what they discover it can provoke a crisis," psychologist Herve Benhamou told the paper...

A Japanese woman, Aimi, told the paper:

"For us, Paris is a dream city. All the French are beautiful and elegant ... And then, when they arrive, the Japanese find the French character is the complete opposite of their own."

Here's the link to the whole article:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061023/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_paris_tourists;_ylt=AvJmv6.YBVtWpk3QYJoAyKUDW7oF;_ylu=X3oDMTBhZDhxNDFzBHNlYwNtZW5ld3M-

I have to say, as someone who has never had more than mild culture shock anywhere I've gone, I find this really weird. But then, I don't expect that any particular place will be paradise. I figure being happy is my responsibility.

EDIT: Left out important questions: How would Kurt Russell respond to Paris? How about Jessica Alba?
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RACETRAITOR



Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea

PostPosted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Funny, I found Tokyo to be a thoroughly unfriendly city.
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Mashimaro



Joined: 31 Jan 2003
Location: location, location

PostPosted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RACETRAITOR wrote:
Funny, I found Tokyo to be a thoroughly unfriendly city.


I didn't find it either friendly or unfriendly. I don't speak more than a few
words of Japanese so it wasn't easy to interact with people, but I felt I could just walk around and mind my own business without the staring and people plowing into you like Korea. Certainly no one was outright rude or anything.
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gang ah jee



Joined: 14 Jan 2003
Location: city of paper

PostPosted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:54 pm    Post subject: Re: Paris Syndrome Reply with quote

Woland wrote:
How would Kurt Russell respond to Paris?

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butlerian



Joined: 04 Sep 2006
Location: Korea

PostPosted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I found people in Japan and, more specifically Tokyo, to be very friendly. Being an Englishman, I have always found French people to be generally unfriendly when I have visited the country. Many of them appear to possess an air of arrogance, reflected by the notorious refusal to speak English to help a tourist even when they are capable of speaking it fluently. If I could speak French, I would have no hesitation to use it when necessary.

Of course, there are nice French people, just as there are nice people in every country, but in my experience France and I are like two identically-positioned magnets.


Last edited by butlerian on Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:12 pm; edited 1 time in total
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ajgeddes



Joined: 28 Apr 2004
Location: Yongsan

PostPosted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RACETRAITOR wrote:
Funny, I found Tokyo to be a thoroughly unfriendly city.


I found it the complete opposite.
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RACETRAITOR



Joined: 24 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul, South Korea

PostPosted: Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I guess there weren't that many rude people in Japan, just that they weren't friendly at all, ever. And we did have a few unpleasant encounters with some older people too.
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Tiberious aka Sparkles



Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Location: I'm one cool cat!

PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 12:06 am    Post subject: Re: Paris Syndrome Reply with quote

Woland wrote:
How would Kurt Russell respond to Paris?


You know what Jack Burton always says... "What the hell."
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cwemory



Joined: 14 Jan 2006
Location: Gunpo, Korea

PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 12:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There was a Japanese 아즘마 in my Korean class who had lived in Paris for several years. She complained quite a bit about how dirty, dangerous, and unfriendly Paris was. Especially when she compared to where she had lived before Paris,... the Central African Republic.
My guess is that France and Japan must be pretty far apart on the 문화 차이 meter. But only Kurt Russell would know anything about that.


Last edited by cwemory on Tue Oct 24, 2006 2:17 am; edited 1 time in total
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Woland



Joined: 10 May 2006
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 2:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nobody's heard from Jessica Alba, huh? Bet she's never had Paris syndrome.
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Hollywoodaction



Joined: 02 Jul 2004

PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 7:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I thought the Paris syndrome was a reference to the new thread of would be celebrities who release home movies.

Speaking of which...

"Because of U.S. Code 2257, the Kid Rock video will never be distributed without his permission. But what about Paris Hilton�s? According to the Times article, Paris Hilton receives profits from her sex tape. According to Blatt, �There�s no way of putting out the DVD unless Paris Hilton signed off on it.� Without connecting the dots explicitly, Blatt hints that the second video of Paris and Rick Salomon, the better-quality version, was produced subsequently, with both parties� full cooperation, for mutual profit. �Put it this way,� Blatt says, �by looking at both tapes, I believe she�s aged somewhat since then, a different hair style, et cetera, more consistent with how she looked on [The Simple Life] than when she was 19.� (Ms. Hilton�s manager and agent were contacted several times to comment on this story but did not reply.)"


Rest of article can be found here, The Morning News.
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doggyji



Joined: 21 Feb 2006
Location: Toronto - Hamilton - Vineland - St. Catherines

PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 7:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

From what I gather, long-term Korean travellers have increasingly complained about the general safety in Europe(Italia, Spain and France usually) as pickpocketers and muggers are found every touristy spot. It seems like Asian travellers are No. 1 targets. I also wonder how real neonazism is. Just lots of horror stories.
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Hollywoodaction



Joined: 02 Jul 2004

PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 8:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

doggyji wrote:
From what I gather, long-term Korean travellers have increasingly complained about the general safety in Europe(Italia, Spain and France usually) as pickpocketers and muggers are found every touristy spot. It seems like Asian travellers are No. 1 targets. I also wonder how real neonazism is. Just lots of horror stories.


Most asian countries are densily populated, so maybe the pickpockets think they are less likely to notice.
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Qinella



Joined: 25 Feb 2005
Location: the crib

PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

doggyji wrote:
From what I gather, long-term Korean travellers have increasingly complained about the general safety in Europe(Italia, Spain and France usually) as pickpocketers and muggers are found every touristy spot. It seems like Asian travellers are No. 1 targets. I also wonder how real neonazism is. Just lots of horror stories.


My girlfriend's parents were mugged twice in Spain!
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doggyji



Joined: 21 Feb 2006
Location: Toronto - Hamilton - Vineland - St. Catherines

PostPosted: Tue Oct 24, 2006 10:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Qinella wrote:
doggyji wrote:
From what I gather, long-term Korean travellers have increasingly complained about the general safety in Europe(Italia, Spain and France usually) as pickpocketers and muggers are found every touristy spot. It seems like Asian travellers are No. 1 targets. I also wonder how real neonazism is. Just lots of horror stories.


My girlfriend's parents were mugged twice in Spain!

Yeah, it really looks like you have to expect it to happen and just accept it when it happens. Gotta carry very important stuff inside undies. Very Happy
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