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( `$ H# L0 J$ }; w; C
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went
A2 N* T: E. Xon a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,
: B+ k. t+ L8 ?- E {: @; O"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give W9 {( t$ @& y6 r6 o
answers to our pointed questions.& {) A0 q# _7 B7 l
. E5 E3 G" w) }" cThe racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
6 V5 Z( d) Q0 {% \6 w0 j45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand
- Q5 O' S I9 U' E& z( bout too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is
, F s. j6 p! y7 t K, M, rfree all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams$ S: f: U6 Z/ i5 F% {7 u, e$ u
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are4 |1 D7 r" c# C4 k
medical schools.1 e# u* H% Q- R e: Y3 H: ?9 j" u
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Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the- R0 l. M# C5 i9 J+ ]
government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants
+ V* @" [$ O4 B9 U2 Q. nto go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years5 ~' ~; X) }! G% w
assigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba. X1 I4 k# b' A$ z- ]% y
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
, n$ f }' H) y6 Bover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There( N, @* s& X" x4 w& r# x9 a. [
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and$ `0 f3 P1 h8 D* E5 j. s
mostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
! Q( Y( b7 i Z# {3 f. C& \; K& w3 zshortage which the government is addressing by converting some3 [8 t4 h z9 D% i# _, W- s }
sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.) y8 V; @( Z+ @. Q# u/ m
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no; @4 ?3 e7 k* `/ r4 H
private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
6 L4 G( p4 I% r4 G$ Msupplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
' z. w8 C+ j X0 q0 Z/ o% k- H8 Fhave to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
2 h7 k- w0 W& o3 [+ j5 Gthing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
4 _* P1 A9 e# zsitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high
q9 ?; u8 g( V/ G, F" H4 ldivorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.
9 ~0 E: Z# x) ^3 u7 S" ?! uDivorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When
3 v0 W5 u, G. i5 {8 E% T' r% Z2 Fa lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only2 }1 C- L k' P( d9 b
charge the fee defined by the state.$ D; ?( H( h" z; k" x
% W$ T$ L( s4 e, e: BThere are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get
$ L- q3 m& L! c, mon), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type2 i9 p$ W3 S. Q+ s3 y9 K/ A4 J
of bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
4 o" |7 i0 X% G% @truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel6 H# Q9 g7 S/ O9 I+ E" i
seems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the
$ E; N' I. x, B; Z* w3 m! Q$ y4 tworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on
9 q: s F+ O8 K2 n8 H3 vschedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if3 q. a: ]2 K6 y8 z4 H' `
you ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people
" ~3 j% L& h" @5 Q ~" ftrying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch: ?8 s$ x0 d/ W8 E
hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that; j( k# |7 D7 @1 A. ^
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want) S7 l/ I9 F8 W6 L- b3 G
to go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or' Y* d0 y- C; C/ E: f0 I) G
buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there
/ i! @* B6 g0 z( C% C" tare spaces.
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) d. ]0 t$ ]8 o3 \" G* X0 y. g7 R% CThere are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi3 Q; `0 w2 o- n* `" a0 F) E5 ^* B
to make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they
5 T2 F0 h. t+ c% {( v- J3 w. _2 ?own a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the$ }& A. g& z* j( v% g
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different
8 @/ c A# F* F- @! d( y5 Uparts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
& F/ A1 o8 D' j# abest and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few/ y: e: ^" m+ S: j5 N! V1 |
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of
; r; I, v- C/ c: V3 d7 fcar license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it
& g# H a+ a8 i: f( X# Gis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.
) y+ e- O2 T9 ]' m2 a: P We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
