CRISIS IN AMERICA LATINA!!!

This morning while I was having breakfast, I had my usual attempt at conversation with Julia. After a few minutes of small talk about the weather, the breakfast and little Jemena, Julia looked at me very seriously and began to tell me that she had told Javier and Cha Che (this very morning) that she was not coming back next week. You have to understand that that is a very complex conversation for me to have with anyone in Spanish, much less at 7:15 AM on a Friday morning; and with someone who talks the language a mile a minute. I was not sure that I had understood her, so I asked her as best as I could in Spanish---”Are you telling me that today is your last day to work here?” With her deadpan look she stared at me and said “Si”. And the English are supposed to be the masters of understatement.
Well, today is payday in Panama and it's impossible to get a taxi in the afternoon because they are all busy taking half the city to the bars, discos and karaoke (not an editorial, just fact reporting), so Javier picked me up at the school after my classes today. I wanted to make sure that I understood properly and so I asked Javier, in English, (What a relief to speak English) if I had understood Julia properly. He said yes, that she had told them only this morning that she would not be back next week. BRAVO!!!! What rapture!!!! I had actually understood her!!!! I could not contain my joy! Javier looked at me with disdain and said something is Spanish that this time I did not understand, literally, but got the general meaning form his look. I quickly explained to him that I understood the gravity of the situation for the family. Julia does all of the domestic chores in this house. She cooks, cleans, does the washing, is adult supervision for the children when their parents are not here, and, oh yes, brings coffee to my room every day about 30 minutes after I get back form school. This is going to be a major hardship on all of us.
Javier said that Cha Che is very upset because she has no idea how they are going to manage starting on Monday. I asked if it was the custom in Panama to give such short notice. He said that this is not short notice. Most house maids normally just don't show up if they decide to quit. Julia apparently was being very considerate by giving them the weekend to prepare. I asked, “Do you have any idea why she is quitting?” He said that she had not given them any reason. He said that they had asked if the money was insufficient and she said no.
Okay.......here's what I think. Julia goes home to be with her husband and daughter on the weekends. It is apparently a long way away because Javier said that the bus ride costs her $20.00 each way, which is part of her compensation. It has to be a long ride, because things in Panama are very cheep. So...I asked Javier, “Is Julia pregnant?” The silence was so long that I was not sure if he had heard me. Julia has 43 years as we say in Spanish. From the day I first saw her 3 weeks ago, I thought that she was pregnant, but did not think it was any of my business to ask. She looked especially pregnant to me this morning. For a third trimester, that's a long ride twice every week in a Panamanian bus. Javier said that thought had not crossed his mind and Cha Che had not said anything about the possibility either. I wanted to say, “Javier, it looks to me like she is either very pregnant or has a very fast growing tumor.” but I didn't.
There may be more on this later but probbly not.