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8 Telltale Signs You’re an Expat in a Country that was Never Colonized

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Traditional house in Ethiopia. PHOTO: Courtney Danyel Living in a country that was never a colony is actually pretty rare—unless you’re in Europe, of course. As an ex-anthropologist and travel addict, I’ve had the opportunity to visit countries across five continents, but when I moved to Ethiopia in 2014, I quickly realized I was in a unique place. Depending on how you define it, the only countries that were never colonies are Liberia, Ethiopia, Japan, Thailand, Bhutan, Iran, Nepal, Tonga, China, and possibly North Korea, South Korea and Mongolia. Some historians nitpick over this list. Ethiopia, for example, was occupied by the Italians from 1936 to 1941, until they were kicked out. They left behind pizza and pasta (which could never be a bad thing). But if these historians took the time to visit Ethiopia (or the other countries on the list), they would realize how obvious it was that they were never really colonized. From my own experience, here are eight telltale signs that told me