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St. Louis

"When I first got to Missouri, I took the flight from Miami to Missouri and we got here. My uncle and my aunt were waiting for us with a friend who had a car and we obviously couldn’t walk from the airport to our house because it would’ve taken the whole day," Urdaneta said.

Miami

Urdaneta and her family were stopped in Miami before they could actually stay in the United States. "When we got to the airport, they interviewed us and asked us how we got to the U.S. and where were our papers, et cetera. It was a really long process and really dreadful for a 7-year-old kid," Urdaneta said.

Key West, Fla.

Before making it on the United States mainland, Urdaneta had to stop here at Key West. She took an airplane ride from Havana, Cuba to Key West, where her family stopped before making it to Miami, Fla.

Havana

Havana is the capital of Cuba, and it facilitates most of international travel. "In order to get to America, we had to get to the capital of Cuba and I didn’t live in the capital, I lived in another city. So we had to take a bus for twelve hours to get to Havana," Urdaneta said.

Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

This is the city near Urdaneta's place of birth. She moved a couple of times, first when her parents moved to their second house near the city and the second time when they moved back to a smaller village. "We lived in this really small village and my mom and dad had this tiny, tiny house where only we could fit. There was no kitchen. There was just a bathroom and a room with a bed and a TV. We’d eat next-door with the neighbors. Then, my aunt and my uncle moved back to Spain. and they were able to send my mom money which is how we were able to move to the city and get a better house," Urdaneta said.