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 ^) ^( z0 j2 z0 a3 n6 `standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went0 j, f: \; t8 U$ v; a; Z# x2 l7 g+ @
on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide, w7 h( `7 |- a3 @. E
"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give0 M5 G3 U q: F8 ^9 n' p' h
answers to our pointed questions.$ }$ d2 [5 V X+ ^) q1 r4 x! j
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The racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,- ]/ }" v' a5 t0 J/ V( j
45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand( Y! n' W+ b: Y
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is
8 K* {' ]" U8 m( nfree all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams( w4 O! U4 q0 Y; s
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are9 ?5 k$ E: t' r
medical schools.
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* P' h2 b6 F7 i7 N% REvery university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the
$ y' H( D% Q! n6 n |government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants: g: r% N- t, ? t b, _- g: B
to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years
$ E$ Z( N7 l# O% \% L4 s% Iassigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba# t! L6 ^& o, X& y( \
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
. k; }) N' K" a$ q8 `2 h7 Q4 `over $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There% F( D5 f3 c2 F2 i: ]
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and- G- P3 w; Q1 s
mostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
2 N# c9 C' e* s7 s- M: h) A" mshortage which the government is addressing by converting some
" K! p# g6 k3 N: _, q, S% ksugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no
! z+ y \) D( [( ~private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
0 ^1 W s- b$ f' V+ ^/ v* x( Vsupplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
# Y$ e- b4 `8 q+ N- H2 y7 T3 Qhave to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
# c5 x' G, W7 q; s( Vthing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby: H( k, ?( K$ Q( g6 L% a0 K
sitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high: [# W6 {- p/ D/ G$ S
divorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.
3 B7 a0 j8 U: q. ^7 b; y8 Y- JDivorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When
- J6 l D0 N- W0 ^a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only
' C+ {5 V& u4 C b% X' Q" R' [charge the fee defined by the state.# W) `0 X* z$ i. C! h
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There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get0 p- B e: j: [+ N) i
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
! K% Z$ E$ ]" x/ d0 y! F4 vof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big3 Y( E! L* ]0 b7 k* i! {
truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel$ l: [+ _; Z% Z
seems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the
' p' t* m) l. f; t+ ~5 a1 {( Oworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on
# F! r+ R0 s H0 w9 A/ D1 A5 ?schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if
( S& u. @, Q$ `$ ^' [' c/ @+ u! iyou ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people
9 i S9 W3 A% H) ]trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch
{4 t! G* g7 H8 ]! ]6 X: N1 bhiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that' j, }2 O2 _9 m; L# [2 n: ^
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want5 P6 e( }+ p1 Q( L1 V, T5 z0 G4 T
to go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or5 i' R/ w% x- j$ K& o
buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there: {* _* R/ l) H- T, V# r+ l- o
are spaces.3 P5 E* b, i, u2 V2 B$ G1 ?
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There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi
6 A x6 |. v! f: U1 K- R+ v4 |to make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they x& W; w, w; t" Z, `
own a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the
# J5 D( X5 f! J0 l! d% z5 i6 S40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different
. q R2 g2 X4 I ^+ ~8 v; Z( aparts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
- ?; w4 \( @, c& Bbest and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few
+ {" M1 p* {# O3 y! ]nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of1 F& ]" ?' Y- ]
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it! q7 E* _6 I$ \5 L: Y4 o
is a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.7 Y+ \+ c! ~) x: f! m+ k
We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
