我们2006年的古巴游记 (二)
Cuba in general, looks a lot like China in late 1970s and early 1980s, living9 p9 ~5 z) {0 F% G
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went! W9 _% z# j( s! y' X- T8 A
on a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,
8 U: C, b4 i0 g! r' H: B/ p"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give$ i, F c7 r, B7 n1 I
answers to our pointed questions.
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8 s+ Y$ R u! t/ YThe racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
8 ?* i0 x0 r: |3 f45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand, K: E! {" x: t" z( y# a
out too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is7 ~$ R; g- D0 F$ E' z5 ^! f! V7 x
free all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams( U1 ], i/ I! W& H l+ K
to get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are+ V2 A8 v+ K# d! G+ a2 ]7 R! C
medical schools.9 }% _9 G" j9 z
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Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the: `/ K4 D% e9 _
government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants
( ?* O4 ]4 f0 R/ v8 A& v: g) v# d. }to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years
0 E7 x: n4 J: y! gassigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba: _1 L7 ~5 u& C0 {: ^0 Q" U$ ?
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
2 {+ b G! c- ?$ F1 \. ]6 o5 ~9 Yover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There
6 ], A! h( \# E+ fseems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and
! n% _+ x0 W5 G4 r: x; emostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk2 i$ E9 F1 L4 t; q# w- U
shortage which the government is addressing by converting some; B' [& Y7 K2 i# y: x
sugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.0 @2 g8 u5 |4 \: }
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no
9 ^1 r9 B/ Z) iprivate real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
' ]+ w& |& ^( O$ k2 x2 ~supplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
6 ]. @& w0 R4 zhave to stay with their family even after they are married. The good6 \; @1 K7 N" n: q* _0 T6 J/ ^( G3 B
thing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby
: P5 Z; ]) q; f4 Z! r6 zsitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high* v' U: P" r6 ^7 o. x8 o
divorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.
1 Y$ b# M$ e" f2 M: [Divorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When; @8 a1 {7 X! ~/ x" l4 L
a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only
% B9 [) R' S0 ycharge the fee defined by the state." Z3 ?8 Y6 n3 M+ A
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There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get4 [1 l1 Q/ d/ L) K G0 Z
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
. a8 H5 |( w. p1 ~0 D, ~; j: eof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big
! u0 Z7 S o4 ?8 B" t: P8 etruck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel
* l1 p) \8 S1 F1 Useems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the6 e1 v, E v+ _8 O" `: x
working class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on1 t9 A' R- c% K9 y& V0 f
schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if
. Q8 `7 ^- {) e+ Uyou ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people
# t6 C! R' J+ ^% u# W) c* o5 x4 ?trying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch
2 P1 h& l% f: E( Dhiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that& {' {% w# S6 g5 r1 M- j0 ~
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want
. m/ l/ y, ~5 B7 Wto go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or
! M$ Q" W5 O+ C c. [" M9 h. Tbuses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there& q$ c A/ @8 C' s4 T) C
are spaces.
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: O3 E( _+ o/ r0 b4 ^. G6 }4 [$ cThere are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi
8 L. I, ]4 A/ K1 Q! f& ~- yto make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they) {: `( I) A: L' U1 A
own a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the9 R9 y0 F$ f/ N5 `" ]7 N* D/ D
40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different p. ]1 O' r3 Y& K+ X
parts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the
1 Q, \: B/ D. o. h( L; ^best and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few6 K' |8 ~. \2 G+ }) y8 m
nice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of: A0 ^/ M9 J# Q# s
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it# f$ c* g j h: N O6 j9 J
is a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.5 M- E& _0 U: a/ b5 ^7 v" E/ l6 c
We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
