"Over there in Patagonia" by Maria Bamberg.

Question

"Over there in Patagonia. The life of a woman in an inhospitable land"
Maria Bamberg, 1995.
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Review, 1st part
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The fury of the eternal patagonic wind is the first impression Maria Bamberg receives when she gets off the plain in Rio Gallegos, province of Santa Cruz, Argentina.

It is not new sensation. That same sharp wind was smarting her face daily and continually during the chilhood times in Patagonia. It takes her mind to her mother, Ella Brunswig, the center of this book, that is not written but built with letters, the correspondence Ella maintained from Argentina with her mother in Germany for seven years, 1923 - 1930, a letter each fifteen days approximately.

Educated to go to the Opera , to learn French and to play the piano, Ella modifies her life till extreme when she and her husband, both German, decide to emigrate to Argentina .

Now the nature becomes the heart of her life. Opera, French and piano are replaced by house chores in a home where tens of workers arrive everyday to eat and rest. But, as she wrote her mother in the first letter, 'Courage and energy for what is coming, the destiny won't overwhelm us, of course not!'

The dynamic vibrant Ella will create an European life in Patagonia. She combines German traditions with the freedom in that nature, that land as inhospitable as generous.

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Please, I'd like to know if 'over there', 'smarting' and 'overwhelm' are correctly used and all mistakes.
Thanks.

Deepa · Accepted Answer

very nicely written elena, i really want to know where is patagonia and why is it inhospitable? and is it a true story?

Elena · Answer

Thank you deepa

Yes, it is a true story

Patagonia is a vaste region, the southern region in the world, in South America. There is Patagonia in Chile and in Argentina. The Argentine part is the part the book refers to.
The landscape is very varied, mountains, lakes and glaciers, coastline, vast plains and the southern forest.
It is inhospitable because of the severe climate and the constant harsh winds.

***
A photo of the National Park of Glaciers, I am the one on the right.
Ella Brunswig and her family were living in this same province, Santa Cruz.

(missing image)

Deepa · Answer

wow!!! then the story must be interesting . thanks very much for the  wonderful review and information...

Maj · Answer

Interesting life!

Trellis · Answer

Hello Elena,

You asked me to proofread your post and make small changes.
I don't know the original Spanish text, so I may make some errors.

The fury of the eternal Patagonian wind is the first impression that Maria Bamberg receives when she disembarks from the plane in Rio Gallegos, in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina.

This wind is not a new sensation for her. The same, sharp wind was smarting (or "stinging") her face daily, continually, during her childhood years in Patagonia. It makes her think of her mother, Ella Brunswig, the central theme of this book. A book which is not written, but assembled of letters, the correspondence that Ella maintained between Argentina and her mother in Germany for seven years, from 1923 to 1930, a letter approximately every fifteen days.

Educated to go to the Opera, to learn French and to play the piano, Ella extremely alters her life when she and her husband, both German, decide to emigrate to Argentina.

Now nature becomes the heart of her life. Opera, French and piano are replaced by house chores in a home where tens of workers arrive every day to eat and rest. But, as she wrote to her mother in the first letter, "Courage and energy for what is coming, the future, won't overwhelm us, never!" (ok?)

The dynamic, vibrant Ella creates for herself a European life in Patagonia. She combines German traditions with the freedom of that natural wilderness, a land as inhospitable as it is generous.

Elena,

There were several ways I could have done it.
This was only one way.
I tried to stay as close as possible to your original text.
I tried to keep the syntax correctly matching with what you wrote.

Maybe a trained English teacher can correct what I typed?
I may have made a few errors in punctuation.
My weakness is overly long sentences and comma usage.

Elena · Answer

Thanks a lot trellis.
It fits perfectly with the ideas I wanted to convey. Time to study the corrections now.
There is no original Spanish text, I wrote it directly in English.

I've revised it.
Proofread, disembarks, stinging and assembled are new words for me. Good.
I also found new uses for three constructions. Better.
Now I feel like writing the second part. The best.

Trellis · Answer

Hi Elena,

I am glad that my small changes were helpful.

I hope that you will write part two soon.
I am looking forward to reading more about the life of Maria Bamberg.

-m

)

"Over there in Patagonia" by Maria Bamberg.

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