Around the world in XXX days

In every country, in every hostel, in every city, there are young travelers. Wandering throughout the world in search of ideas and of themselves. These are not tourists. They are not gringos in the same way a person that goes to Rio for a week during carnaval is a gringo. They travel on a budget, jumping from hostel to hostel, taking cross-continent bus trips and memorizing their passport number. They speak English and at least one other language. They don't know when they will be done. It depends on when their money runs out or whenever they feel done. They are usually in their 20s, well educated, independent, European, and socially liberal. Many are taking a break between undergrad and grad or graduate school and a career or they just need to think about what it is they actually want to do with their lives.  They travel by themselves or sometimes with a friend or a partner.

I would like to be one of these people some day. A world wanderer, not fixed to any geographical point, language, or culture for a few months or a year. I would go to Bogotá and explore the transportation system; Panamá City and watch the ships go through the canal for hours; Montevideo and take a boat to Buenos Aires; Lima; Río de Janiero during carnaval; Brasília, the "artifical" frontier city created just for the government; Caracas and Havana to see urban socialist/communist settings; México DF when it's safer; San Juan to see how it is being in an "associated free state"... And after Latin America, I would go to Johannesburg and Cape Town to see life after Apartheid; Manila and Jakarta, those enormous cities in Oceania we hear so little about; Delhi and Mumbai; Istanbul, Moscow, and Jerusalem for the history and architecture...