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/ w& N; H( k, h5 V
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went
! d6 ~9 l( w4 a. A- v1 n- ron a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,' v/ v( J: N; k ^9 S8 @! R
"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give. J/ R0 k, B! p8 A% F! ?
answers to our pointed questions.
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The racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,$ {( t# L* B( H; Y, }! f
45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand4 L) |8 O8 ?/ y' i! E" T
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is
4 m- u0 g% _% v* Q. Hfree all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams
) Q% |' r# S0 W0 h% z) T& ?3 yto get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are/ E% L) q$ W. U3 n. [( ]/ C
medical schools.
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Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the
0 m( p! N t! B4 ogovernment before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants
8 T& Y5 N7 B9 L& U/ ]4 Q. kto go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years" A$ m+ l$ p2 _+ p7 t& g
assigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba: g( x, l( t# r1 j% Y
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
6 b% j/ N! n% J/ ?6 Pover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There
& D1 S% f9 x8 Z, s$ j3 Mseems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and( o) J& J2 Q0 P) K$ X" m
mostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
! `! j% L+ b9 I# b; Z: q& eshortage which the government is addressing by converting some( a* A* s, d: d! J$ P3 X
sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.2 Y& l+ ^% H1 F/ K' R7 X
" {3 m- v2 u6 I( v/ N! Y6 sThe main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no
" x$ E+ N2 g. D; W- x2 Mprivate real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and% O. s& H: {) z
supplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people! U& G) S. `* m! [; r
have to stay with their family even after they are married. The good1 t3 \- J; g) m
thing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
0 t9 R6 z$ t. v; w; x p1 X) Qsitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high
; \' ]& N. Z9 ]5 B' K) Adivorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.
* y6 C- m/ w+ \3 C9 r0 IDivorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When; }% L4 p* s7 D
a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only2 X. v$ {+ t, A
charge the fee defined by the state.# W* Z2 I6 L$ B
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There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get' G+ C7 W, ]8 K, M3 G
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type! e" j* v$ s0 y, i7 I! Z' C: p& i
of bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
& z0 Q: o, ~+ y- {truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel
5 E% l- Y: G' K. x. pseems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the
% {# b9 h9 r! J( J$ |' oworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on
) p" }4 I9 y/ k6 xschedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if
+ J% u5 q- u9 ?9 m; ~1 J2 d6 {you ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people
$ h" p. _- @8 e' M: }+ ~trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch' R, Q7 M& p f1 V6 z5 A& L/ ~
hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that: s% k# d6 K) E% \
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want
% T3 _0 Z4 r$ K& `, yto go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or
- C) L, W; W9 o. J9 G+ y, b2 \buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there0 U/ N5 c1 n$ y" a8 {! M
are spaces.5 b4 A# C/ T* F
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There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi
" h8 E0 Z6 l8 U: @# `0 m% s2 sto make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they
( ^" w" {+ `6 u+ `. x Aown a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the
9 Q. h" V) L3 g0 R( M* T40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different! x2 n! L% _. ^" B" ` T
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
9 x5 w( W& J5 Kbest and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few
/ Z" }1 J6 C# w1 I2 A1 P- v: G0 S6 ]nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of, A% @! C$ w+ p
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it
; c! G* A8 `% d3 b L- Yis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.
4 _) a9 N$ A$ t We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
