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/ _2 O( g* u, w
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went, K3 M- D# j1 Q5 D4 C, j
on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,
2 `: i( J1 y4 A' M"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give
( D/ C1 @) [/ j W: i- P2 [ s# N* Fanswers to our pointed questions.( T" n0 ^ V) [' C$ t- E
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The racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
5 }8 B, N2 \% J: D45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand
! [6 H+ f( J5 v) u: g3 `) T" }$ S! Zout too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is
, ^: r, w; N' k# hfree all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams! ?: M5 O0 P( ^# D# q8 I9 h# c
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are
, j2 C: M f( b7 L7 kmedical schools.9 H5 x7 G2 e8 N" D
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Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the
& N' P: j, \/ t5 L$ B: w& mgovernment before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants
' T i2 d3 r$ w5 zto go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years% X1 j( K4 r/ g) g" y
assigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba3 n2 P7 T2 s4 k, g1 N& E+ |- w
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to& c7 X7 j1 u" {$ }& S. R: N' v$ y, q
over $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There: r- k" k& G* e* y& G+ H% O+ u, V
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and
3 \4 G/ J6 }( Kmostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
" J+ f5 e# h5 Q& Eshortage which the government is addressing by converting some- L5 i2 h9 k% |9 {
sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.0 ]; H* R0 x0 o1 ? G* r
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no2 n" u" ~0 ^4 S: G% R
private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
1 s3 `$ e8 e1 Msupplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
& i2 ?# K; b$ J. ohave to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
2 w9 Y. m- v9 T; Nthing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
1 w6 ~+ H6 \$ U; o$ O$ L- [sitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high5 @7 D! P# ~7 z+ Y# Y4 v( J8 `3 R
divorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.6 V' Q: s& w# s0 D) ~! I$ R
Divorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When
8 S: f! r. t5 z% sa lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only
! g/ `& f4 P/ q3 d! O: Lcharge the fee defined by the state.
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There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get
) V1 y4 ]* A% qon), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
G' A9 |. m1 | w8 rof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
9 {1 w% U5 Y. [, T' N% k3 ~truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel
- d( H( @8 d: T! M$ x# u, L8 iseems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the
. y& e# ?5 M! J4 ?' y0 Wworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on* R7 w) G4 h _1 R
schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if4 G7 j$ F, T; @
you ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people
0 C& J" X0 [3 [, {& t9 y8 D p1 wtrying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch2 i5 d- K9 m3 }+ k* X- A
hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that
& s5 l5 d& y9 Y) J- {9 N' Tpeople have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want- ^* r4 o$ e3 T, e
to go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or- w5 z) C. R( \3 v7 L9 p4 E
buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there
& j( m7 X4 B2 Y( \% Rare spaces.. g4 E3 | o# c6 ]( I. {2 ?3 d' p
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There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi
/ o, u1 `% ]$ s9 K. ?& pto make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they
$ H! R, ^ n( B; T0 _* F" kown a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the
/ W$ g. @6 e, a+ E2 M6 _* X40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different
7 E1 T# y; [4 r% y, @; oparts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
9 ]1 }: @5 s- sbest and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few. ]7 ?: F- |% b; V
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of- ?, e# t/ h. K5 X
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it
" c3 Q. u1 D0 `* S$ x" k3 k9 Pis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.
8 e; L/ |! @; E We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
