我们2006年的古巴游记 (二)
Cuba in general, looks a lot like China in late 1970s and early 1980s, living
, d7 k5 A( P8 z2 `# O% ostandard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went
/ a& I5 c; x% M/ Q9 F5 E; ~! `on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,
T0 S; B- ?2 X% |* O8 l- R4 G- v5 n' k"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give$ g4 I ~% K2 u# j7 A% d7 X; {3 y
answers to our pointed questions.
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The racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
' `, w1 i. R1 _: o* H45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand
+ `6 { v9 y7 S: V qout too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is1 t. J2 X; }# t9 X" f5 g/ S$ D" P
free all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams4 M2 [( L; r9 }" t* s' M
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are
. b' Y2 v" b6 q4 Dmedical schools.
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5 F+ n3 l3 O- i4 X/ Z0 y3 OEvery university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the- k/ l3 ^; Z, e8 q% |. q: q
government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants4 s9 U# x- C6 r, q% x* Z: n
to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years
! r# b9 K- |9 kassigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba
8 B* W) P2 M8 l: A6 ~! \is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
: Q& q* Z9 l. z' bover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There- w2 m" y) l# _. M7 ]
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and
+ [( Q( ]9 J9 Q" f* j! w; y" wmostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk7 J D' N/ ~& a. k" c. z2 a4 q
shortage which the government is addressing by converting some
9 ~% c+ @3 C8 Z o# j8 E2 Ksugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no
7 I# d9 T1 X* Z3 q5 oprivate real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
2 ]) p j9 X1 s% W. ~: d' E7 r" Dsupplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
1 e. r" D9 D6 j0 _) hhave to stay with their family even after they are married. The good' E2 R5 { y n
thing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
5 B6 \, Q' o9 U1 k& C3 z9 N+ [) ositting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high
: T4 V' Z3 C/ _3 v3 D' ], ldivorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.
( x! W. u( L8 j9 vDivorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When
3 e4 @2 a/ S' W. z. E; p! T" Sa lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only2 ~" o) `: g7 H3 ^9 J
charge the fee defined by the state.$ T. u9 o7 b% v: i5 l X
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There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get
! w9 m1 r; l3 O, b% y' i$ \on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type& h5 j" c& E- P; ^6 N
of bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big0 Z( H( Q2 ^$ I/ E4 O/ O( q
truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel
; F1 P* j) J0 t4 M# W0 m* t: b( N( n* oseems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the
) V% C# V& E7 Y/ b" oworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on
( x0 o1 m( n3 L- V9 M. ischedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if/ P; H: b1 M. h7 @; C W
you ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people4 z( D. b, S& \' z0 z* E
trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch" A* H+ g2 {4 K. G3 `
hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that
9 b% G+ ^9 K2 P! cpeople have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want
" r+ m( V& d( g; J7 Z# I7 J( oto go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or, R% z4 u. ]: ]
buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there
/ l! r; q+ Y* o9 lare spaces.
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6 V/ n6 A3 o4 M- Z5 \' ~% kThere are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi* x+ t! I3 Y3 R- S, o
to make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they
* j! [# l$ C8 p7 j3 Nown a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the: S Z# q1 g) L: |- A! P
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different
5 M4 g- m9 p& `! x, Mparts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
" y* h) P; @! w2 H3 X& _: ]best and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few; u7 V; k. O$ x" q4 G( H
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of0 F$ P; Y4 p7 A- H
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it
5 v. d( i8 [& ~5 Wis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.. Z6 J' K" @3 k T6 [. U0 O" Q0 e
We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
