我们2006年的古巴游记 (二)
Cuba in general, looks a lot like China in late 1970s and early 1980s, living3 P5 P: d$ g# T& ^* u
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went' U) D7 P1 |) J
on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,* t- q. G! z( I; p+ u
"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give: z2 T! D0 e) r' ~
answers to our pointed questions.
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" g9 p |5 p; f: \8 }+ cThe racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
, t) r) w! c6 j$ Y- g$ {; o45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand
! d7 o; c" Z' u; r9 T0 C9 bout too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is2 s( r- N4 N$ m4 y
free all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams' H' H# a' d" F5 F
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are
& Q/ L/ n- J$ Z4 c0 N" A: O% r; tmedical schools.
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Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the- P4 _6 @5 ^0 U0 D- j8 o" h9 A. e' O4 U
government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants) Y3 i" o" F1 x' f3 B
to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years
, w5 A" ]% p9 O1 dassigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba
$ Q9 x# n1 x" J9 b* r9 m( Q4 {is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to/ I2 Q, R' F: M$ P) Q0 t1 M) B8 O
over $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There
2 V# s, v2 ^) _$ h1 }seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and
# @0 [: Z7 f/ f3 w* Q8 dmostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
! q, {0 w( g; W) U3 Q0 oshortage which the government is addressing by converting some- c1 C- }, c8 } D6 x
sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.
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& ^0 s; e ?2 b( `The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no5 u# L, O t# d! z1 U, f! K
private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
( |; d$ G+ ] P1 `supplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
$ S/ [+ n* O6 S) Xhave to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
0 G! u% [; `, P2 Ething about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
; G+ F0 S4 J7 C ~$ l6 N* h- l8 \, @" Usitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high
! B1 X8 B- r/ I4 F0 |4 Y" A& gdivorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.
7 M$ t8 L- }# B+ RDivorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When% x6 M* M- |; F: B. y) G& P6 ~1 Z
a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only
! q1 I4 b& J% ^ Bcharge the fee defined by the state.
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There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get
/ u( r) Z5 o2 j3 i) Y/ son), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
% V) r5 ~# m1 K. z& D8 {) qof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
% q: L' X# F" U( [6 u/ ctruck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel% {6 `- u/ Q3 Q5 @
seems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the
- s% ^# X" D+ n4 Xworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on
+ a& h& q" ^# w9 dschedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if6 @+ r% P% P3 E% V _( L. ~ {: ]
you ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people
1 I- m0 H/ {5 X! Z6 r1 L7 u5 F3 etrying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch
7 @3 L0 M. A6 Z3 }% Y# W3 Jhiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that
: Y! y' R% p" _' ~: p* ~' m' \people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want6 j, N9 x+ @5 A2 _ w! l5 I
to go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or
; \& V8 A: k0 i/ {buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there
8 ~5 I3 B# g6 ~# O: |+ Hare spaces.. u5 e! X' V9 E$ t7 Q
8 G" ^, g# V9 Y9 KThere are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi, u$ p1 |6 m* X, Y2 B
to make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they
7 y5 P1 ~0 m/ e c! F7 jown a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the
# h( d$ `/ L" Q40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different( }7 ~/ `9 l- \
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the& O+ Q p% F& M0 m
best and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few
* @8 @. c0 C0 z Mnice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of9 | l. p9 G" ?
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it
/ t8 z8 x& x2 ~- ?7 [ W Y& _- \4 Pis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.4 X, M4 s6 X2 U2 r2 x, |" Z9 n2 V0 \
We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
