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: q M/ O3 X z
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went: F8 K' Q3 v. l$ Z7 V U8 C
on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide, r# {6 o1 k' T
"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give
" f6 o* k. |( ?9 `- U \answers to our pointed questions.
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The racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
& G9 S8 F8 V J0 C45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand9 W5 t# ^% I- @# Y6 C
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is
* u0 ~7 Y/ Y4 q0 Cfree all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams
' Z8 W; F" Q& |to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are6 h+ h8 W' {3 X! u' U
medical schools.
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Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the8 S" w- |- x5 C% W2 G- F9 i
government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants4 c8 E# b2 f& i* J4 c
to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years
" v+ l; U4 k5 kassigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba
. W, k) C( g. ^+ e) ^is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
/ A1 Q' |# ?9 Q% Y6 U; ~" _" lover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There
$ h; v |# x" r' d2 Q" m# @seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and
" D# y$ F9 V/ ^' Zmostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
- o9 x. Q0 ?% n& @& P; wshortage which the government is addressing by converting some
3 G2 R2 E) R: N4 Psugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no9 r) P( Q% q3 w5 w$ \, [7 G
private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
& ?9 ^$ o: C; W0 s3 E5 {2 M& I% hsupplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people6 q$ e8 c" T- I. i) R+ g6 O4 A& o- k
have to stay with their family even after they are married. The good- O( s! l9 _0 {( R: E0 D
thing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
! `! U4 L1 }" Zsitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high
, ]/ }7 _( H1 x, [4 p- zdivorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.
* Y& @0 x! W8 x5 P. p7 R: e8 @& O, ADivorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When( \- y. @( @" |" B) g
a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only
7 [0 p" s( V1 ^charge the fee defined by the state.9 O% F. C! }8 v8 R
& E* v" |: v5 |5 I! x8 aThere are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get! J, M* I0 ]! E8 U: K, U, w( l
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
+ W$ z) P1 D; N* c, rof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
4 L5 F. |) v1 S* h; ztruck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel) S+ Q" N) L' F. s6 ?
seems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the
, H5 q6 ~: J& yworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on" e a+ Z% I. p1 U! b
schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if
4 I$ _1 V& L D6 N: Ayou ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people! i- ?' s# x i. k
trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch( X" G" t" d! A6 p
hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that: g8 s3 {9 J7 P8 `
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want
( ^3 w1 e; A; F* y% ]3 z. p! jto go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or( C' I" Q5 G6 M8 i
buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there) i6 ?" i( M$ z1 ^8 T
are spaces. @8 p7 p$ C; }) {
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There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi" {' z8 e2 u$ t3 h
to make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they/ r J5 ^6 R$ H7 E0 _1 b
own a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the7 d: o# V' i+ H- @
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different8 z, s) x1 H* U* v& } e
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the' H- ?9 @ k1 M& q4 n9 Z
best and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few- z& p9 \. V1 k- q5 Q: D
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of6 G! v. h$ ]6 v6 o8 v' R7 R
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it! i5 Q. ~. x$ g1 f
is a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.- P* e$ f+ s' v; e. a) z3 L" ~
We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
