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, @- d& P) u) C1 O+ w$ p6 T
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went6 U+ x* @+ T% N4 p; {) U/ V
on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,
) z1 l Q5 {* r( t5 f2 i! v$ M"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give
?7 F P$ r0 r) U* N& E, Vanswers to our pointed questions.! I3 x( r- H6 f# ]
& z" b+ Q1 y6 W. G fThe racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,0 V7 y4 V' a& v9 Q( Z* G
45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand* I. w+ P, ]! @5 O E' I
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is
! c4 b' e* ?9 D$ N- h) cfree all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams
6 B& `9 _9 E9 fto get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are2 g2 {; x2 T+ c2 m
medical schools.8 t6 A, I9 P% r- @( f0 {( K7 m
( t D5 ^" m6 i& _% cEvery university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the
$ E* y0 m6 {. C: Dgovernment before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants$ I$ q5 V' Z: m. r# B5 N# i& L% R
to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years% m5 A% L/ f) C7 c( c! e
assigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba& t4 i) t7 L% _3 K- }0 D
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
( M1 H) X! `! o" k5 Q" k; j4 aover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There% m& }( C' H4 N
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and
; \3 A# G2 P/ M0 O$ U- v) Kmostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk/ G) j* T g5 G# R# X
shortage which the government is addressing by converting some
0 U+ W1 K5 N9 h1 t+ X5 T! B" {sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.+ r9 A& U0 ?* q- k0 u
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no
! c( w# u- T z. ^private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
. y: k) i! v3 b( F9 _supplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
# o0 S. q g9 P' V" m/ Y, [have to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
9 \6 s) n5 t) c6 z6 ?( Othing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
# U& B5 v+ K" c% K" _! i9 Asitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high9 {6 g0 z& x( ]$ ] X& c) U# u( k$ O
divorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.
* ~' m; q: Z. E9 K" r3 _Divorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When3 e+ {5 Y/ h7 K6 a: P
a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only8 ?' V! i6 K7 a% X3 s
charge the fee defined by the state.0 D3 ]3 r6 `6 M+ b Y2 s0 O& t
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There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get! Q4 F* b9 _: ]4 d; Z
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
9 K; L/ `7 v& K! K* uof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
4 ?. N4 o2 k" ltruck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel' p7 L7 h; \7 W( O
seems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the
4 d2 @1 v+ G+ J- J5 }* r: Q1 hworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on- |9 `9 W2 U6 S8 v) i! c% i" ^
schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if
2 }# ?$ {/ J0 [# e. ayou ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people
) [& o4 `2 x8 G2 @2 otrying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch
: F4 l3 T. A+ _3 C6 phiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that
' q; A& v, Y" v# c0 }( Fpeople have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want
' Z+ T: L# w3 n) Rto go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or
! ~2 D1 ^* b4 M/ {) f3 E2 ^1 [buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there. x+ ^: g; j# ^5 m. |" W z
are spaces.9 H6 d! q1 C% n3 w
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There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi
8 r) D: j' K0 |( j/ J8 @to make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they- h3 {' _* l$ b+ s$ s7 L- J
own a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the1 B% L- x5 k/ Q+ s9 c" ?1 }
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different! T/ X: x% ^% l! a: i9 k F
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
. {5 f5 b: ]1 B% n8 wbest and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few. K0 O+ o+ R b5 }; ]1 F
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of7 g$ c( ~. \8 d
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it8 s j7 } G, Q2 K
is a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.
: E8 v4 i w+ F" D( V# ~ We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
