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
+ t# P: W$ z$ K. t$ [/ {standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went2 J1 O, X% m/ y# F2 K; [
on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,
$ R) c! N- F& s& m5 U! [+ v$ P/ w"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give
\9 s% {" c! x/ e7 w, [) d# O& ]answers to our pointed questions.: z6 j! o2 c) K- x0 Z
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The racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
4 U7 i, ?; z! }6 j* _! N45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand
8 e' k7 S" B9 V/ u3 Kout too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is
1 G8 m8 u7 _) F& g1 Cfree all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams
8 z. A5 o( H* I) W1 b8 M- \2 tto get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are
) W, l, z0 g5 b) h* B/ imedical schools.
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Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the
4 k$ S( \# k" A6 ^$ Rgovernment before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants; F2 j4 s3 Y/ S3 ?
to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years
0 {. |5 c% n! U7 Y0 b) yassigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba
. m" F+ @! X) k% v, Lis from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to9 X% @; c; A+ k# O0 a; i N1 d
over $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There% C2 r* S6 F+ n/ G
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and
1 S. O" D3 I) q$ M4 |4 \mostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
* c+ N; N! r Z2 s& ~shortage which the government is addressing by converting some
9 E0 T5 C8 ~4 e3 U1 Lsugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no
m' I* ] Y1 H% ~# h5 `private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and, X+ F2 l' L' ]+ t2 R3 M
supplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
G' V. l: P0 ?; n. G+ o1 t0 a$ }have to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
" L) N4 b- W; V' B8 f3 ~! e9 G3 v! mthing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
8 b; r/ Z" f3 M6 r) Ssitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high
/ w6 }. \( `9 u. f; v8 A% _divorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.3 i! s8 { H7 F+ B' @1 I; x6 J4 K
Divorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When& ~1 `1 J/ ?7 E8 B! x& K
a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only
g# g2 G7 i% qcharge the fee defined by the state.
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2 }7 O$ A! x# o% c( \0 UThere are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get6 c o9 e2 Q% P8 I2 H/ U$ Y
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type: Z& `, i3 b4 w0 p& }+ U
of bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
( y# {+ }% j, d. Etruck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel
2 J' i( r, v3 I. t7 dseems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the
; R1 I4 a- ?$ J& A/ p5 ?4 Kworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on g# g5 l3 b5 e/ v% x6 X
schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if
/ S1 b. h: B# z2 P5 l% Tyou ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people8 a$ \+ p. Q' o/ K# c9 ]
trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch
6 Y# V- W0 U& R7 ]0 e3 S7 j6 Xhiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that
* j0 j7 X" w- D8 s$ K* H1 U' s: l# f" b1 ppeople have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want
# U% Q. m- X; Hto go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or
I% c0 `$ w" w' K# e' ebuses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there7 [9 C5 V! P& U2 N& F
are spaces.
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1 P# T/ b8 ~, \. m. X) o" QThere are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi
" i0 r* U, M1 S8 _. L+ v# ^& Pto make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they; e9 b0 t7 g0 A8 V8 L
own a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the
2 ]: L- _* f+ c, R40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different" F! | a# I/ R
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
5 u/ Z3 y t$ Z8 w' P( O5 Gbest and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few$ i- X. u9 H B2 p* j
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of) o: |" O/ y. z# |5 H# b0 z9 ~
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it
- M4 F4 v: o4 q/ L) T4 O3 P" yis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.9 Z/ J& Z1 r' t: {
We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
