We have had an exciting week in the pension. First, Jacqui and Manolla got slammed with the flu over the weekend, and spent the majority of those days wandering around the house in a coughing, comatose stupor. On Saturday, Jacqui confined all members of the household to obligatory bedrest — whether we were sick or not. So, even though I was completely healthy, I was ordered to stay in my room while my lunch was brought to me on a tray.

Tuesday night, one of the boys in the pension decided to pull a little joke by leaving a cassette tape in the microwave. Unfortunately, he forgot that we have a psychotic microwave that randomly turns itself on whenever it feels like it and runs for 10-15 minute intervals. In the middle of the night, Jacqui runs into the kitchen to find black smoke billowing out of the microwave…both tape and machine were toast.

Wednesday night, another one of the boys from the pension, not wanting to be outdone by his friend, took a joy ride in another friend’s truck…straight into the river. Jacqui woke me up at about 5 am to tell me the news, and that she was leaving to go see what she could do. Unfortunately, I don’t speak Spanish at 5 in the morning, and the only words I understood where “truck, river, and drunk”…I pulled my thoughts together enough to ask if the kid was alive and, learning that he was, crashed back to sleep. Later that morning, fully awake, I was able to get the full story: Driving drunk, the boy rounded a corner going too fast, hit the curb of the costanera (a long sidewalk/boardwalk that borders on of the rivers in Valdivia) and lost control of the truck, plunging it into the river. I’m not quite sure of the details, but apparently it took members of the coast guard to pull him out of the truck. He was unbelievably lucky not to have been killed (or to have killed anyone else). He escaped with a few cuts and bruises, but it was a sobering lesson for everyone in the household. Check out these pictures:

The taillight of the truck -- the only bit still above water

Another view of the back of the truck

Moral of the story: Please, please, please don’t drink and drive. Not everyone is lucky enough to escape from an accident like this.