KUCHING: There is a saying that age is not a barrier when it comes to learning new things.
It resonates well in 78-year-old Matsumoto Tatsuo, who despite being Japanese, is a linguaphile.
Not only does he know the Japanese language, but can understand and converse in many other languages namely, Polish, Romania, Spanish, Italian, as well as Bahasa Melayu.
The former English teacher from Chiba, Japan, told the New Sarawak Tribune that he finds it fascinating to learn and understand the different languages from other countries.
“For me, the Romanian language is the easiest to learn, while Bahasa Melayu is a bit difficult to learn.
“This is because it is quite hard to find reference books in dual language (Bahasa Melayu and English),” he said.
However, he said he did not give up and has continued to be dedicated to learning Bahasa Melayu for eight years.
Matsumoto Tatsuo or his given Malay name ‘Mat’, is among the 13 students from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) participating in the ‘Kembara Anak Samurai ke Sarawak’ programme.
On his visit to Sarawak, he said that he was excited as it was his first time to the Land of the Hornbill.
“What I love about Sarawak is that it is so beautiful and the people are so friendly,” he said.
Apart from that, he said Sarawak has so many different ethnicities which make the state unique with its different cultures and traditions.
“I’m very amazed to see the high level of tolerance and culture of respecting one another here despite people having different races and religions,” he said.
Meanwhile, besides Matsumoto, there is also another senior student from TUFS named Shimano Tokutaro and he is 75 years old.
The Japanese students, led by their visiting lecturer Faridah Mohamed, are in Kuching for five days from Sept 1 to 5 to experience local culture in Sarawak.
The students’ visit is part of the 17-day programme to Malaysia and Sarawak was chosen as their first destination.
Next, they will also be visiting Johor, Malacca, Perak, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya as well as Singapore.
