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 a2 X) N2 y( E9 K
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went2 x' {2 \$ {: F: g! r
on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,
! m2 s5 Y# k0 A% W$ s% c"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give
6 k8 ?; H% b5 f) D% t: Zanswers to our pointed questions.& o! L" r8 u9 o$ l
" B6 a' V, s+ _& a
The racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
2 X8 ^* X0 l3 R* A45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand
$ V$ ~1 x; [2 n# qout too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is
9 U2 R. m, Q. y$ Lfree all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams5 [$ b6 c& z2 @
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are
. M# @# ` m9 Y* Tmedical schools.
0 B) F5 v! \& r) S0 V# a+ }$ D% M9 w$ K; O* `. x/ D
Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the
2 ]; c% w. a! b+ T4 W: rgovernment before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants
( x# E$ ~5 ^) J* J; ]4 @to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years
L: R6 m4 F' G9 s" kassigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba
# N; W" L& I( \, e& g& Cis from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to' ?7 y8 _& Q6 F0 u* d4 E" P
over $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There8 ~& e) j& M& a {! R. G
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and
8 K: r4 p2 L* U) t6 R- S& s9 Amostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk* D9 p- j) U1 ^ G, T$ W
shortage which the government is addressing by converting some4 d, d2 y1 t( o- F! @: c) |
sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.
, Z5 k( M$ l" U f) Z( P V6 \" s
The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no
5 \& L/ f8 L" U' j) ?* Qprivate real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
) A( R4 o+ k# X& Z. esupplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people2 J. D8 G/ U) W+ P3 a
have to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
2 b3 k2 F- F& e* ]thing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby9 k7 e% g O i( A) \
sitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high
4 \& `+ j$ X& f8 d) Ydivorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years., ?! v! P0 [1 `' p' ]
Divorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When
7 A' a. b) H+ b8 u, m' I5 C' ]a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only. t* C9 f+ W1 X# J2 R5 V* p: D
charge the fee defined by the state.. e( \# u$ d. B9 }
' Q8 h* N0 y1 R: u
There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get5 H. J6 ?4 L( P# a: ^$ u7 C
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type" }$ n& e" X- N; ?& s) I; F9 _
of bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big' d. t, G: t' }& x |
truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel
6 J& \+ i7 k3 vseems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the* |0 N+ L" I7 Z
working class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on
7 }0 S- b8 G) u P1 A" ]schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if
! A2 B7 H' U( L( C0 C( H2 S5 H3 gyou ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people& F( ~8 Z3 L% L: d3 v( a7 F( }! x
trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch# O4 ` j" d2 U3 \
hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that- M' L0 H% I5 Y k9 p
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want) i* h6 b7 G/ {% M0 ?
to go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or6 z" J4 I: y! G% L9 n
buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there
) C0 o$ i) o$ h1 jare spaces.
$ O2 c6 l* |2 T: y, E( R% {# x% M, A, W* c0 h" Y1 F9 N2 @; o0 F, N
There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi' t% l6 @' N2 ?- q, e/ t7 I% Z
to make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they. G: V, j4 K% U' d" L
own a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the- X8 M' r. p/ Q4 B( z. D
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different K0 o5 \) e) R
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
% U+ K" X8 h; a q! H$ abest and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few
% n. I* l7 U3 I' _1 m rnice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of; M7 }! Y8 C( L9 Y
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it8 T7 O5 b* n- P
is a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.' R2 Y& \' P8 W- S9 B8 k
We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
