'Paris Syndrome' strikes Japanese
A dozen or so Japanese tourists a year have to be repatriated from the French capital, after falling prey to what's become known as "Paris syndrome".
That is what some polite Japanese tourists suffer when they discover that Parisians can be rude or the city does not meet their expectations.
The experience can apparently be too stressful for some and they suffer a psychiatric breakdown.
Around a million Japanese travel to France every year.
Shocking reality
Many of the visitors come with a deeply romantic vision of Paris - the cobbled streets, as seen in the film Amelie, the beauty of French women or the high culture and art at the Louvre.
The reality can come as a shock.
An encounter with a rude taxi driver, or a Parisian waiter who shouts at customers who cannot speak fluent French, might be laughed off by those from other Western cultures.
But for the Japanese - used to a more polite and helpful society in which voices are rarely raised in anger - the experience of their dream city turning into a nightmare can simply be too much.
(Con't)
Sourece: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6197921.stm
Are individuals in Paris really that rude? Or Japanese tourist are little bit too sensitive. I always imagined European cities to be a much nicer climate, when compared to the likes of North America, but some of the stuff stated, makes the rudest American city on par.
Article is a bit funny, about the seriousness of the condition.
