What am I?

I'm not a tourist.  Tourists walk around with cameras and point and buy things and stick with their fellow tourists and don't even pretend to try to fit in.  When I traveled around Europe I was a tourist, and because of that I have amazing pictures and unique souvenirs from various countries, but I don't have an understanding of the culture and I didn't have any eye-opening conversations with any locals.  I like being a tourist for a week or two.

I'm not a traveler or a backpacker.  Travelers and backpackers go from one place to another, see the sights, and do their best to speak the language and experience the culture, usually with other travelers and backpackers.  When I traveled around South America I was a traveler, and because of that I learned a lot about various countries and have unforgettable memories of friends I've made from all over the world.  But I don't know the stories of their lives, the dreams they have, how they met their significant others, or what they're worried about.  I like being a traveler for a month or two.

I'm just a normal person living in another country.  I have a job and a house and I earn money.  My friends and I like to hang out and talk, go places, play cards, and have parties, and when something exciting or sad or frustrating happens we tell each other.  When I lived in Mozambique and Argentina I was just a normal person, and because of that I have a decent understanding of these cultures.  I can start to understand how people think, the origins of differences, and why habits that we deem unacceptable can be acceptable.  I'm more aware of the joys and challenges of daily life in these countries, the hopes and fears that people have, and the US's role and reputation around the world. 

I like living and working and just being a normal person.  I like to speak Spanish or Portuguese instead of practice them.  I like to earn the local currency and not convert everything to dollars.  I like it when it becomes normal for live chickens to travel on public transportation.  I like it when I really crave mate if I haven't had it for a day or two.  But I don't like when everything breaks and nothing is on time.  I don't like it when people give me different prices.  I don't like it when corruption and cheating and teen pregnancy become normal to me.  I don't like it when I miss birthdays and races and holidays in the US.  I like to live and work abroad for a year or two.