Nĭ hăo from Taiwan!

[Viviwren]

Hello!

My husband (English) and I (Taiwanese) are both new to the world of pen turning. So new in fact that one could say that we haven't even gotten started yet! We are very interested in the idea and find a lot of sentimental value to be placed in them. It is something we'd like to do as a passionate hobby and gifts to loved ones.

I joined this forum to find more information and learn from the best, and the experienced. My existing hobbies include foreign language learning, baking, studying shorthand and calligraphy, reading and the occasional guilty pleasure of playing video games when time permits. My husband was a former self-taught blacksmith specializing in kitchen knives, former chef and current student in learning Chinese and studying for a degree in business administration. He is also a fledgling macro photographer on the side who really enjoys taking pictures of the Taiwanese insects and plants. We are both dabblers and enjoy seeing the world by learning as much as we can first hand.

It is nice to meet everyone, and we look forward to reading all the tutorials here!

 

[magpens]

Hello, and welcome to IAP !!!!

I live in a suburb of Vancouver, Canada ... there are lots of Taiwanese people here ... in fact, our next door neighbour family is from Taiwan ! . Lovely people ! Three little kids that we adore ! . Our kids are all grown up so those little kids call us Granma and Granpa !

You may already know that newcomers to this website have their names entered into a draw for a montly prize ... Good Luck !! . And if your husband joins and writes a little bit, like you did, in this Introductions Forum, he would also be entered into the draw and that would double your combined chances of winning a prize !!

Be sure to ask lots of questions because everybody here likes to help. . Do you have a lathe ? . If so, tell us about it, please.

 

[tomas]

Hello!

My husband (English) and I (Taiwanese) are both new to the world of pen turning. So new in fact that one could say that we haven't even gotten started yet! We are very interested in the idea and find a lot of sentimental value to be placed in them. It is something we'd like to do as a passionate hobby and gifts to loved ones.

I joined this forum to find more information and learn from the best, and the experienced. My existing hobbies include foreign language learning, baking, studying shorthand and calligraphy, reading and the occasional guilty pleasure of playing video games when time permits. My husband was a former self-taught blacksmith specializing in kitchen knives, former chef and current student in learning Chinese and studying for a degree in business administration. He is also a fledgling macro photographer on the side who really enjoys taking pictures of the Taiwanese insects and plants. We are both dabblers and enjoy seeing the world by learning as much as we can first hand.

It is nice to meet everyone, and we look forward to reading all the tutorials here!

Welcome from Littleton, CO. Taiwan is one of my favorite places to visit and I love staying at the Grand Hotel. One stop that I always make is at San Xi to see all the hand wood carving.

Tomas

 

[rholiday]

Welcome from South Carolina.

 

[Glenn McCullough]

welcome from the mitten.

 

[Woodchipper]

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have a variety of interests.

 

[Jim15]

Welcome.

 

[Barnmb7117]

Welcome from Chicago, IL A lot of the kits come from Taiwan.

 

[leehljp]

Welcome Viviwren,

Enjoy this new hobby. Enjoying learning foreign languages is easy for some and difficult for others. My wife was great at learning languages but it was difficult for me even though I studied 4 in detail and became fluent (read, write, speak) in one (Japanese).

I lived in east Asia (Japan) for 26 years and one of the best times and food that I every had was in Taiwan about 20 years ago.

You "may" face a few difficulties in obtaining pen components (kits) from the USA even though most are made in Taiwan and China. The difficulty is the shipping costs, and some companies that will not ship overseas from the USA. But don't give up.

Lots of people here from all around the world who have valuable experience for almost any situation.

 

[TonyL]

Welcome, welcome and welcome!

 

[Ligget]

Welcome to the IAP, from Scotland!

 

[OZturner]

Welcome Viviwren, from Sydney Australia.
Brian.

 

[Viviwren]

Thank you everyone for the kind welcome! I am a little shy so I may research a while in the background. I will definitely shuffle forward some questions if I cannot find the answer here!

Hello, and welcome to IAP !!!!

I live in a suburb of Vancouver, Canada ... there are lots of Taiwanese people here ... in fact, our next door neighbour family is from Taiwan ! . Lovely people ! Three little kids that we adore ! . Our kids are all grown up so those little kids call us Granma and Granpa !

You may already know that newcomers to this website have their names entered into a draw for a montly prize ... Good Luck !! . And if your husband joins and writes a little bit, like you did, in this Introductions Forum, he would also be entered into the draw and that would double your combined chances of winning a prize !!

Be sure to ask lots of questions because everybody here likes to help. . Do you have a lathe ? . If so, tell us about it, please.

Oh wow, I didn't know that there were lots of Taiwanese people in Canada. Your neighbors sound very wonderful and cute. I like watching them run around here too. We call each other little brother/sister and they call me auntie even if we are strangers. We refer to each other as family a lot and I call some of my elders grandpa and grandma. It is like a big family here!

I did not know about the prize draw, it sounds very exciting! I will let him know about it. I do not have a lathe yet, but am trying to research what I can buy in Taiwan that is also good. My husband used to have one, but we had to sell it when we moved. It is very hard to import things here as a normal person even though a lot of items are made so close by!

Welcome from Chicago, IL A lot of the kits come from Taiwan.

Oh! That is very good to hear. I was worried that it would be hard to find. If you know of any good recommendations, I would love to have a look around. Things are difficult to import here and often very expensive for shipping. On the other hand, good wood is very easy to source so there is that trade off.

Welcome Viviwren,

Enjoy this new hobby. Enjoying learning foreign languages is easy for some and difficult for others. My wife was great at learning languages but it was difficult for me even though I studied 4 in detail and became fluent (read, write, speak) in one (Japanese).

I lived in east Asia (Japan) for 26 years and one of the best times and food that I every had was in Taiwan about 20 years ago.

You "may" face a few difficulties in obtaining pen components (kits) from the USA even though most are made in Taiwan and China. The difficulty is the shipping costs, and some companies that will not ship overseas from the USA. But don't give up.

Lots of people here from all around the world who have valuable experience for almost any situation.

That's quite a feat! Japanese is a very difficult language in my mind because there are so many degrees of formality to learn. It is a very culture heavy language and I get nervous about accidentally offending people! It is really fun to go there as a casual tourist though. I like the food there, but I agree that Taiwan has the best food I have ever had out of anywhere I have been if I had to choose something to eat everyday for the rest of my life.

I did anticipate that it would be difficult to get a hold of things...! It always seems the case, but I will be doing my best to find what I can. Thank you for your encouragement and I am looking forward to explore more around the forums and seeing everyone's works and experiences. =)