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/ u/ c* q: i' w# A2 z3 x1 \
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went
1 z& f* d8 I! f3 Gon a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,
+ f( t6 x4 D/ `( ^4 S- ]( ^"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give6 I& `: i8 I; W$ _
answers to our pointed questions.7 y. Q& G- o3 H8 X
5 w8 L* R. U6 j4 [- h) v4 bThe racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
% C- I n _+ `# p7 K+ o L& L4 E45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand* I* L" d- p! Y8 A9 G
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is- D2 v. w% y1 W' y" ^5 `# M
free all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams' |3 I4 o# U! v5 [2 t: v
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are
! e$ v7 C7 B( K1 lmedical schools.
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Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the1 F5 j; e% T: v: t
government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants
$ t9 E, s3 I, V9 a- S6 e# M+ ?to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years
& p7 U# N) H% J# Z7 h( G. m1 `assigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba
7 U6 _) N& ^8 `+ I5 f Yis from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
/ A. V. Y6 q; T" s& Vover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There1 k! k7 ?8 {% B+ t# {. X. O" y
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and
7 r0 o, y2 ^0 Z# p* N4 N& Y! T4 @% U' qmostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
1 S& `& h* T, W+ P& g0 k9 n. Bshortage which the government is addressing by converting some
+ g1 B* `, i( ~8 ?+ Lsugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.! u0 j* h0 J* m4 e9 A+ Y
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no) }8 N3 e, ]% x R
private real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
% n9 m2 L. W1 Z6 m% j& A1 Ssupplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people& m) c3 y+ d8 h( G% {2 D, l
have to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
& H# q+ R3 d- M8 \4 ]* o. D7 \* y, ithing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby+ T4 x6 J/ Q; A7 Y
sitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high q; |4 p1 n2 l- B* K# S
divorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years./ E [0 p U' ^
Divorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When9 Z, w8 C( u( a7 @9 ~
a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only
2 G# N5 l9 z- c+ ?charge the fee defined by the state.
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There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get/ H, `% t P& {- Q# \& C W' m
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
7 Y- F% i) _9 y9 H! n& T& G5 Vof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big$ @9 u2 t. W" ]) j6 E/ X g1 S1 S
truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel& W- k8 d5 Z/ Z2 Y. e0 j& X \8 f
seems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the
; U6 |0 O8 V3 N# ?# x- Yworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on( e1 R& E# S$ i$ V1 c1 V
schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if% C6 a- j8 r+ y3 a# l
you ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people5 _4 h- I5 \( i- v
trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch- A* p0 ~' H* T. s! z' a3 L( Z. ?
hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that
8 }+ w9 E, ]/ Q: b O$ ?people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want& o4 j( G' N- n7 n
to go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or
/ P i. @- Y6 X: Obuses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there
9 D+ k9 L; O' | l' l- Ware spaces.
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There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi
* O" i0 a1 g6 T2 I& o Qto make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they! a6 x9 V# ?. ?; b
own a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the
. r$ J6 J) C; S7 r" D40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different7 N) a2 l7 K; `& k
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
6 H. B+ J# H1 S* T7 x) |) o( w. {best and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few/ N* j1 t! Y; u6 ?/ }
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of! C3 p1 u+ p8 `6 h" {$ M1 g
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it
- C w- v! r: C5 yis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.) y% l7 l3 J' ?, a! w* f
We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
