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
( v! f$ a. {# `standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went
: f! S1 j/ B6 Son a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,/ K9 M: b! n G1 z1 V W' j Y1 y' g
"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give+ d9 X) F& O6 a: d
answers to our pointed questions.0 [! R8 ?& [/ R# v1 l
. r. l# P3 ~6 fThe racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,! \& c1 R$ b3 C& I6 u7 O
45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand+ n$ x/ ?% ?% k& `9 F
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is
7 w0 o6 I( T6 N% ~3 sfree all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams1 Y) `5 p1 e" |! f9 Q% O
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are$ d+ A0 j) v% k4 l, y7 M/ H+ e9 q
medical schools.
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% p" N+ M0 G* T' q4 `# J' \5 aEvery university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the' u( V9 j* m1 H+ u9 }; ?
government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants
3 }3 n# y+ a! ^; F% X+ ] |; |7 zto go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years. Z1 N3 k' o; W( O# z7 d9 O" \, e
assigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba8 v9 e1 G: Y- x- ?5 [8 d0 n
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
& \' }) f( T: R! F) y7 vover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There
. G5 q8 u3 j" y ?seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and
) b. G) y# X3 Fmostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
6 ]% z0 V' n1 o; v" v$ {/ Z$ o! _6 {shortage which the government is addressing by converting some
1 T8 Z5 Q6 O2 r8 B B3 r) R9 t. Csugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no
2 u- f9 b( v* R9 ]2 Q, k& \$ _: |private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
- T3 v' F1 O9 x0 I9 i5 \( `$ zsupplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people; m* _% h. M- J/ c6 t; I
have to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
/ A% c4 c ~. m' e! J2 R$ _4 [thing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
6 {* m# f) G+ I% j$ Bsitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high
9 z5 ?3 [" M2 j1 {divorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.( G5 h/ z% @% Y2 P1 ^9 q4 r
Divorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When' b, s5 T. G2 K/ C, A3 N1 n8 `
a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only& Q! B8 z' ~* r! ^# }1 Y& n
charge the fee defined by the state." T' ^1 `, ^7 W
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There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get
* R- l7 m& c6 M! L4 u& z4 ?on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
$ S3 D- g7 C" A% M$ S) @8 Fof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
) X# Y" q5 G- P# Q% ptruck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel
% m, ^ J; R# [0 s+ L. r% Hseems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the- C9 P$ r/ W) ?
working class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on
* d& M1 _( v" q5 c0 W# Zschedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if% j: w8 P2 Q1 `1 W7 y
you ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people) w$ }+ b* p1 V$ N' ~7 N5 q8 _ d2 O
trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch
- F' y# n4 u4 Q9 D4 d# Ghiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that [$ v" P% w9 e" h0 V
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want
8 @( n9 G( n4 |- ]to go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or* m" \) j+ I9 @) s& P+ P* @
buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there
/ [: i8 e/ ?. Aare spaces.5 n4 y8 B0 W* h" b5 z8 K) S8 H
2 t! E) Y! [ g W' V1 {6 n( Q; JThere are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi
1 \0 L) u7 w$ J( Y5 a1 ?# ?& oto make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they
% w9 i7 t! S! o( u6 ], Down a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the
9 F* z% e- d4 _" k40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different6 l& {+ r2 g ^; ^+ x) M
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
2 e d: H: }6 u' Gbest and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few8 R1 ^) N) ~+ W0 o) u( N1 t
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of7 d# \. a. \9 x* T5 f6 A! t% Q
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it
0 _& X) P [2 i& sis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.
7 \" m# G. n" T4 T# ^* L l! g We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
