I resisted the temptation as I was visiting by request. I did, however, maintain the correct pronunciation by spelling, even though it isn’t considered true. And while accepted, I noticed that the locals preferred the schwa variant instead, though to me it sounded like they’re trying to regurgitate the name rather than say it. As though someone was asked the city name and they tried to answer after being immediately punched in the gut. “Loo *punch!* UH!…ville…”. The gateway to the south, I suppose. Where it gets too hot to enunciate, and phonemes just kind of melt and ooze together in a drunken slur. Of course, it’s also bourbon country, so that might have had something to do with it. “Luvil…ughhh…*barf*.
But this is not an anti-south post. I jest in good faith here. Midwesterners are certainly not exempt from hilariously incorrect pronunciations. Bellefontaine is for some reason pronounced “Belfountain”, and Versailles is “versailes”, and Mackinac is…correctly pronounced in the French: “Mackinaw”, so then that must mean Fondulac would also follow suit. Haha, no! It’s pronounced with the hard “c”.
Anyway, we were visiting Liz’s sister on invite as she had a work celebration function. At a women’s soccer match. I’d never seen one live, and I must admit that compared to trying to watch a football game, which the NFL has unceasingly tried to make unwatchable, soccer isn’t too bad. It’s constant action, albeit a little lower-key, and with a perfectly reasonable game time. A 90-minute game with their bizarre stoppage time meant the game lasted less than 2 hours. Compared to a football game with halftime, which usually lasts over 4 hours.
Then we tried a couple restaurants, as one must do when visiting a new place. And like most large metropolitan places, there were lots of options. The tacos were good, but no better than what we can get in little ol’ Dayton. And we went to a nice Cuban place, which is something we can’t get in Dayton, but I was a little underwhelmed with my entree. The mojito, however, was fantastic.
Speaking of liquor, it was an excellent opportunity to stock up and try things we can’t get up here.
In summary, it wasn’t a trip I can use to give the city an honest review, since it was just an overnight trip and devoid of any cultural immersion. All I can do here is document a quick visit and hope to see some parks and museums next time.
Oh and I stand by my assessment that the Ohio river defines the midwest boarder. “Midwest nice” turns into “Southern hospitality”. The “Midwest goodbye” turns into the “Southern hello”. No, really. Down there new introductions are lengthy and rambling and packed with random information, none of which includes anything about the person you just started talking to. Then when the conversation is over they just walk away. It’s a Midwest goodbye in reverse! Culture shock!
–Simon