我们2006年的古巴游记 (二)
Cuba in general, looks a lot like China in late 1970s and early 1980s, living2 B# c( s4 M7 w; y8 P( c
standard and government control wise. To see and know it more, we went
- a- z$ X) [- l& S5 b2 Don a day trip to Havana ("La Habana" in Spanish). Our tour guide,' Q7 p/ O) r4 _% ]2 \9 V# s
"George" seems to be very knowledgeable and, as we pushed, he did give5 I1 m2 B8 l$ H7 b2 l* t
answers to our pointed questions.
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The racial mix in Cuba is very diverse, with about 40% white, 15% black,
0 l, p0 [, c2 g( w45% mixed (aka mulatto), even about 1% Chinese, so no one would stand
7 p/ u/ J- A, P2 Z( s: A1 qout too much here (especially after you got a sun tan). Education is! ^) Y P2 B1 O* R. ]/ a
free all the way up to University level (need to pass competition exams
+ H4 e+ d! _% \3 a/ c! `' t7 V9 k* Fto get in), and it sounds like close to half of the Universities are
+ h: U* ]: Z; G' a; {medical schools.
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Every university graduate needs to do 3 years service assigned by the
, ~- b$ ?: F) {government before moving to the job/place they want, and if anyone wants& b- q+ K& h _- w
to go abroad afterwards, he/she needs to do an additional 3 years B! a$ L* M; V1 S+ W$ c1 x
assigned service before leaving the country. The salary range in Cuba3 A8 p2 `/ |) k2 b9 t7 ~0 w
is from $200 Cuba Peso (~$11 CAD) per month (minimum state wage) to
$ Q9 g2 P& t) I( hover $600 Cuba Peso (~$32.5 CAD) per month (for medical doctors). There
5 C5 B f' K2 a- Lseems to be no big issue with food, as most basic foods are cheap and- v. r5 u' j {5 l/ N$ e
mostly supplied/rationed by government. Though they do have a milk
9 N; D7 B7 K" z ^, l* q2 jshortage which the government is addressing by converting some
6 J/ E( Z1 N% m% R2 N4 E- Isugar-cane farm lands into cattle lands.- k5 ~/ P' \( D8 }; `. `3 V
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The main issues are housing, transportation, and clothing. There is no
N4 C: D* u! N! C6 p2 V2 M! Nprivate real estate in Cuba, as all the housing is controlled and
3 j7 Z" \8 T3 E+ E3 X3 rsupplied by the government, and the supply is so tight that young people
V( s8 I' r P; f; ihave to stay with their family even after they are married. The good
) j( P p' g$ v- Uthing about this is that there is always someone in the house to do baby& H6 o1 ~- y3 | ]) W8 q
sitting and care for older/sick people, but bad impacts include a high
( s7 m8 O# B( ?$ G- edivorce rate: over 50% newlyweds go separate ways within two years.% Q& v0 M. h+ I7 _# W
Divorce is very easy: 15 days waiting period and $4 Cuba Peso fee. When
2 v! n+ f. I2 f3 C# |6 {a lawyer is involved, the fee is $15 Cuba Peso, as lawyer can only
! M. o9 I; n, d6 a) icharge the fee defined by the state.
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There are three main types of transportation: taxi ($20 Cuba Peso to get. Z8 r! R3 K/ r( x$ G) G* J W3 K
on), bus similar like what we have but made in China, and a special type
/ K3 z" L3 I9 y( xof bus called Camel (see picture) which has two "humps" and the big5 t, h& z( i( u. X$ W
truck head of the bus comes from NFLD (used as we were told). The Camel
- m" V% v9 t9 H) _1 Zseems to be the main transportation for most Cubans, especially the
' N; V: s( w5 m) A$ iworking class people, 20 cents per ride, but it is often not on
4 j% n' `) ^ d/ \; }schedule. No one knows when the Camel will come to a bus stop, so if
1 {4 r) a+ u5 |; v0 n1 d: Z' wyou ask, people say "maybe today, maybe tomorrow". We saw some people
6 H! p7 b i0 O& l# Rtrying to hitch a ride in quite a few places. George mentioned hitch
2 X, J1 `7 T3 N; ~& G* q$ M: t' uhiking is very common in Cuba due to transportation shortage and that1 C. ^& G/ {9 d$ _1 a
people have developed a sign language to indicate cities where they want- E. h0 n# x' _1 ]8 ^
to go. There are places that government officials would stop cars or
) S+ _- w7 L( Zbuses owned by the state and order them to take hitch hikers if there
( Q* ^: R; ~( C* g2 D( F9 Q0 ware spaces.
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0 e9 p W, s* j% k: \There are private car owners, and some of them use their car as a taxi
/ B+ @3 U8 l! V: z0 z$ xto make some money, people call them "the thinkers" (that is why they
' J- J* F' V# G, xown a car). Due to US blockade, most American cars here are from the
6 j7 O1 U+ f1 x% n40s and 50s, but most of them had lots work done inside (all different
' Z5 g( R. k' M [( q0 @% sparts including homemade) to keep them running, so Cuba probably has the! V% Y+ o( b0 j) F
best and most innovative auto mechanics in the world. We also saw a few
$ N5 n, u" X( y0 nnice new Japanese and Korean cars. We asked George about the color of0 F2 D; t0 G+ `& B
car license plate when we saw a nice new Audi - he said the red means it! B0 `9 |0 n# n
is a rental, the yellow ones are private, the blue ones are state owned.0 s, _1 |7 {5 Y: H& d
We then went to check our bus, sure enough, it has a blue plate.
