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
- x( b9 ~& { o% l7 [ T. \standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went* V- k1 v9 g& N. c
on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,
2 c2 ?& P4 [3 x. }) |' I"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give: |1 B, W% z2 r7 `
answers to our pointed questions.
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The racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
$ x! F7 r5 |5 C* P E: q% J45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand) q$ E; X, }4 K" h F6 ?
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is
$ R; d4 x% P& q# B/ ]free all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams0 i* H) @: O* q. i& V- B; u) A# y3 g
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are
( c P6 d5 m' c. }) Smedical schools." \" b Z! { x; d- H
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Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the
: v, n- D* [+ m+ b) `" y- g2 ]government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants8 j4 m# g# N3 V: o' k6 W! u
to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years
' T O# v$ P3 y$ | a- U' @assigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba+ D" \( W# I/ t: T) M" p' h. b' w
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to. g3 p$ H, a6 m$ x! |; G
over $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There6 {5 y( a0 K$ N! ]1 X$ k) k: C$ a. R
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and& H# I+ y' E; w( v! }( E
mostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk' }0 o# g4 e8 U' X9 h/ S" z
shortage which the government is addressing by converting some
% b" u* t% \* c* ^3 }: D( R# z$ Zsugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands. J* V: w! M! e/ w' ?
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no
) r2 Y7 b; |$ V2 Q2 g1 E, s- Iprivate real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
8 x7 W/ n: [3 i9 _supplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
$ P' @" P; V. B; Q8 F* c( g# phave to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
6 P) V' D' L* a) B$ ]3 Q' }thing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
4 L. n3 }$ ~3 A8 L: k Csitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high
: Q3 S. h C8 _3 }8 g( u5 Idivorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years. q# B# @0 n2 J1 w0 M) q" r
Divorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When
! p9 A. H# y# X1 v; H3 D5 X, oa lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only1 \2 v. k5 ^: R y
charge the fee defined by the state.- m6 N4 G$ S3 u& v
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There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get; x+ N; H4 n/ [% a0 n
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
) L1 F6 h( i* f! I& [4 d* pof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
8 p4 f! V1 k0 Z) ?* ~truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel+ E4 u) G4 Y* s! o
seems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the) F7 y, [. C: e$ o; `
working class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on
6 |8 i$ h. b+ {4 [4 f: }* D# vschedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if3 I& y4 y5 O- e4 N! ^6 N/ l
you ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people
' Z, x4 |+ r) h& P- @% `- Rtrying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch. `' l V' K# s; k* c8 R% `
hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that2 b5 N- Q( W% ^1 |
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want4 b- z# }- v* |* Y. _- f" w
to go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or7 E. [. J- F4 d5 E+ |, S9 {
buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there
7 W( b, m7 U7 K* hare spaces.
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, X1 b& p% j" V' ~- b# U N, aThere are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi1 N0 G+ L) J, U) o( D3 o& z
to make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they+ }9 t6 S% A2 p
own a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the8 d- a e/ r& k0 G8 C6 D
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different$ U8 Z" E6 R" s( w- w, ~
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the5 }( P/ s" R9 A) }% m0 j
best and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few/ r; u# V) C7 \8 `) _; w
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of8 N$ j, ?7 r9 U f, i; `( H+ N
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it
0 B" p S# K( Z7 i& D9 lis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.
6 Y4 k# Z t8 T* w3 J/ z# I We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
