我们2006年的古巴游记 (二)
Cuba in general, looks a lot like China in late 1970s and early 1980s, living3 X. O& ]. j# k' [6 k$ S$ M" X
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went
; N: O0 ?9 t q' }1 Z& S, [on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,) L' l/ g B1 b& { O) Y
"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give" f: V" R3 r$ I f
answers to our pointed questions.1 _) p4 {+ w7 `
. {" r6 N S4 g- n9 g5 qThe racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
/ r5 z# Z+ n; o7 Y5 B3 @45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand1 _4 ?& F' T! i3 c _( o
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is4 ?; O, R% B4 S4 w) ?& a! d5 b
free all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams* D$ l. V4 T" V I% C/ ^. e/ Q
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are0 o1 j, F: u; Q# \8 d
medical schools.5 m& S: C5 b9 o4 [9 v" I8 y
9 h' i+ H/ s4 K/ |2 s- d0 K( _
Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the. u4 N* S$ @5 \) K+ P; n8 p
government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants
, t V* A! t- gto go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years# j4 n( y% ]9 e/ y2 W( Y x
assigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba9 l5 Z' t" T/ t
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
# H7 {8 _2 T) I9 D# k/ R3 D, n; tover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There
5 |% t; j5 F2 V+ k& T' E" n1 N" ]$ ^seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and
( E" x! s* j6 s7 U# E2 S! xmostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
1 G J- K; `4 _( A9 Kshortage which the government is addressing by converting some
2 l& C1 Y5 ]. z3 G5 @sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.
& I/ Q1 j6 a: Y' k( `2 X9 G- w2 n" l: ?
The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no" w0 \/ | q' g4 j
private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and3 [7 b# X2 c/ m$ q! R: w
supplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
! {% R$ f/ P+ H8 ]4 c' m3 F! ohave to stay with their family even after they are married. The good$ |. Y! \6 p( N5 L) e
thing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
: P- b3 Q4 H+ j& H/ J4 Wsitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high
) I5 c, D, g2 W; _$ sdivorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.
, p( S5 I% H6 P; t4 mDivorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When4 z( \4 A4 W, N" d/ `0 C& u
a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only. X- E8 d9 y8 x, C. H2 r
charge the fee defined by the state.
& d: P v. j9 t6 O* @4 z1 g/ Q4 R2 L9 z1 d0 X& f: e2 M" x6 Z
There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get- a3 }! N D, \; ^
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
$ B6 Q" `. {% |3 s5 i6 zof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
9 ]6 e; }; s6 e9 N( S- R* _truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel
9 ]/ C. T( @* t. D7 wseems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the) w, R3 n' b# E" h0 L
working class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on1 w; q" q) |) ?4 q u9 W, k& i
schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if9 U; u7 R: ^4 w% U! |
you ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people
0 E( ]3 ?% g/ L5 a0 Z' h+ [trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch
% a% a0 _6 |/ V: Q- H) w% f2 z- Y$ rhiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that& _5 i! V' a! C. w$ E: Y1 q5 o: i
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want
$ x4 B# _3 T, D0 w; u x Cto go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or
~' v- C# A8 g9 ]% l [& H0 Hbuses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there7 ]+ h. c. n5 \ j1 M+ M
are spaces.( [) ]8 Z0 @2 `" [$ s7 w
" G. G. f0 L+ \
There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi' J8 I$ L( m$ d' v6 z. D
to make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they, K* t' Q5 ^' l) t- d" }
own a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the& G/ [/ |7 U4 n
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different9 O0 X) k2 |. M. `
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
% q" q1 ~% ?/ }8 _' { u) G5 ybest and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few' z4 S- c* U' `1 j
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of; o* V& y3 M5 r8 a# M) D) i+ \) k
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it) x, d9 ]6 \; z3 ?" R7 R
is a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.
- [9 ~' u; `: g4 F X3 t We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
