我们2006年的古巴游记 (二)
Cuba in general, looks a lot like China in late 1970s and early 1980s, living4 E1 p. k' j, c6 K
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went v5 E5 W3 a, j8 X, H; G* H2 ]# Y( z
on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,
h& s6 [& s9 E L"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give& W8 I8 Q4 S' j
answers to our pointed questions.
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The racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
. x! j" o" C$ R% Q( R C" @45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand3 A# R/ U/ V" g% S+ @( g: p
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is
* h" R4 Z( {; \" y( \( Hfree all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams9 p, A* r) i7 \; F5 w+ ^
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are
4 [/ I" M$ q0 B9 Z: Rmedical schools." @, I# Z/ @1 Z9 b/ c
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Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the6 V. F1 w& e( v8 A n$ I, H
government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants6 \$ ]* f9 V- K, d
to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years, g2 j. r6 n7 |2 n
assigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba* _& F, p2 Y( `2 F% W& p% F
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
5 I/ x. ^. {6 `1 z [- ~* Kover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There+ {; r, I; A% S7 ?
seems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and0 t, J: B: Y& N; m7 T+ f
mostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
5 i9 c! g4 u$ j" Z& q |shortage which the government is addressing by converting some7 ~. W% V4 o' l J7 K! O3 d ], j6 q
sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.; W" E1 d- H( I% h# I
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no
& Z7 T" W* M+ K+ ?" E; I" K( Wprivate real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and3 o/ f8 h6 Z% G
supplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
6 a5 o' c; a' ?/ L, W0 q' Y9 xhave to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
3 \, F# C4 h$ y; ithing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
( Q7 z6 s; L9 v; S! E6 ksitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high& \# @( d6 {" S, J1 N
divorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.
1 V. H( ~( e b$ {3 pDivorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When( @; v& |. l* X/ ~; Q6 _
a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only$ g- o% H* I8 T& {
charge the fee defined by the state.
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8 B" z. m# r' T9 ?There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get
# ?0 w( w# R' z+ Y: m3 q) con), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type! F+ q9 N* q/ Z
of bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
1 x+ u5 _" Z9 h2 j# {) R4 U0 Xtruck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel
; Z: w" f0 l% gseems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the* D" Q% o4 |5 X0 E9 F
working class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on6 Z. z4 U$ e+ o( t7 K
schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if' a- G- V' `4 g/ a( v
you ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people( X- z2 G6 V6 H3 U `
trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch1 c& m% W. @$ [6 T. Z
hiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that6 p& i5 S- ~6 e. } M
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want6 i0 B" \1 t2 C! C
to go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or- ^6 h; \8 P" F2 }1 t
buses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there
+ g( a' P6 H; {0 C# Kare spaces.
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% \3 A% K, q( s& S) jThere are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi
9 d4 w6 w! s: ito make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they' ^5 z3 L! Q0 N3 O
own a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the0 Y9 j& {4 F# g
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different
" a1 U8 f) L1 z' ^+ b8 Lparts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the( G" V }( I1 t5 B: X: _
best and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few9 z/ g/ |$ h9 ^
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of
i x, z6 ]" Y& b2 s* D% hcar license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it
1 |0 @3 m: y# r- `" y, u, Fis a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.
1 \2 ^. t: }: b# M We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
