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
5 G. ~4 V+ ]* t2 j: v& ystandard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went0 h" R7 G$ V8 ?* J% u
on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,
8 u& m/ J7 A# ?1 [# w3 r"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give/ C! R u- b. l1 I' J t8 K! C+ @
answers to our pointed questions.
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$ L4 K8 \2 B7 k, P+ M% vThe racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,8 ~* f3 Q% [5 E* O0 G
45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand, Z+ W8 `8 w d; {& W
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is9 e5 s+ v$ I; l: P U
free all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams: K3 G+ c6 P( L, I" f. O
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are# w6 M" w9 o9 t/ w
medical schools.
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% s0 Z2 ?8 M! W) H5 `+ nEvery university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the+ c, [+ g* Q& F. r% o( g
government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants
+ E1 \! V, M* A2 h+ z0 hto go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years
6 z2 V0 U+ m- U) S9 O+ s/ c, yassigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba
! k5 n# z0 ~ ~7 q. ris from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
5 A6 u6 R' J, \# \over $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There4 ?/ j& s0 o8 X" U$ w& p
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and
7 E' @0 R* `# tmostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk3 T6 ?) G8 S! e$ x
shortage which the government is addressing by converting some- R% u: x5 _' D
sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.3 e' Y. a# R& P( V$ r
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no8 Z b0 a/ {% y M( J
private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
( Q% z9 S: C& ?4 asupplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
( v4 m+ L$ N7 s: P$ Y- E5 yhave to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
7 x6 v, C( T1 F, H$ Jthing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby2 m1 U4 v( |1 v$ P) K
sitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high
0 y& O6 G0 x& |8 \" Q7 Adivorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.
+ w% w: f( w( ^5 e$ R. c- dDivorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When; f( _9 Y+ b2 p! F
a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only
- S* d* \4 L! z8 G/ Gcharge the fee defined by the state.5 s8 }+ E/ W, R" A
# e& m8 |! r0 M. i2 R# i' qThere are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get2 v: m* }1 N! h% q9 q9 K
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
7 c& _1 ^! _$ K, [9 C+ {3 N% h! eof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big) M, _7 B$ X: M6 _4 @5 f, @
truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel7 k( \* U& a" d) | B- R
seems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the
# y M# l. j/ fworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on" g# s- P8 g* W- }, z2 W
schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if
! Z2 y! s+ `4 E5 s6 ?: ryou ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people; L. Z8 J& v+ Z
trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch
" T$ G* R8 u W7 Dhiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that1 O- ~8 a5 G/ {$ V8 j
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want
6 u* ^, w0 b$ ]+ N# sto go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or' P; ~) N# o& O/ m6 F) r/ v! T
buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there
0 f6 L+ A! \5 W& l2 C, l, Q' care spaces.& Y" C4 U3 |8 G' R1 n
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There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi
& ?+ ^+ _7 A. a) f: S/ [7 Oto make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they; ^6 e" x1 v6 ?- y- w4 D2 j
own a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the$ s. Y _& [0 ?+ S5 x+ U- x, t8 Z6 n" \
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different' B4 R/ t0 u% G1 w# N7 X
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the7 Z1 I7 ?) R6 s% B Z2 n
best and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few" u; {/ J% W* }9 H# Y
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of4 M2 a- E; J' T9 K
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it; n; Q/ g/ b& p
is a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.
& s( I/ K/ S# }, q8 P' }) b. n# A We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
