I came to Africa with one purpose: I wanted to see the world outside the perspective of

European egocentricity. I could have chosen Asia or South America. I ended up in Africa because the plane ticket there was cheapest. I came and I stayed. For nearly 25 years I have lived off and on Mozambique. Time has passed, and Im no longer young; in【M1】______ fact, Im approaching to old age. But my motive for living this【M2】______ straddled existence, with one foot in African sand and the another【M3】______ in European snow, in the melancholy region of Norrland in Sweden that I grew up, has to do with wanting to see clearly, to【M4】______ understand. The simplest way to explain what Ive learned from my life in Africa is through a parable about why human beings have two ears and only one tongue. Why is this？ Probably so that we have to【M5】______ listen twice as much as we speak. In Africa listening is a guided principle. Its a principle that【M6】______ has lost in the constant chatter of the Western world, where no one【M7】______ seems to have the time or even the desire to listen to anyone else. From my own experience, Ive noticed how much faster I have to answer a question during a TV interview than what I did 10,【M8】______ maybe even 5, years ago. Its as if we have complete lost the【M9】______ ability to listen. We talk and talk, and we end up frightening by【M10】______ silence, the refuge of those who are at a loss for an answer.

【M1】