When I think back to when I first arrived in Mongolia, I remember how some Mongolians would address me as the “N-word” person. Such words from a child could sometimes bring tears to my eyes, but I understood that it wasn’t always from malice, but a lack of understanding. Hip hop mass media, a genre beloved by young Mongolians, had arrived long before an actual Black person. Therefore, Mongolians had adopted the “N-word” because they thought we called ourselves that word as a collective. I also think back to when I learned that my host family in Mongolia, although we grew and continue to love each other, wanted to “return me” and trade me for a “real American” – a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, white American. For these reasons and more, it is paramount that more of us go out to show ourselves to the international communities.