From zero to 010101010- My experience at a javascript bootcamp in india

INTRO

A gust of hot air swept across my face as I opened the air conditioned taxi door. A light hovering in the distance was gliding towards me at an eerily smooth pace. As the light drew closer I was greeted at the entrance of the farm by a moustached man in flannel. Appearing to be from a distant space age the man was floating a couple inches off the ground with  quick tempo techno blazing out of his futuristic transportation device.  
  After rubbing my eyes to make sure i was seeing correctly I slowly started to make out the devices spherical shape due to the neon lights making electric circles in the dark night. His name was Ravi and he was riding a King Song electric unicycle with blue tooth. I bode my astonished uber driver farewell and followed a light headed in to the darkness. As the paved road seamlessly became dirt we turned around a bend and the sky once again became illuminated. A three-story structure in the not so far distance with fairy lights hanging off the side was in front of my wide eyes. I had made it to Hamsah Organic farm. I had made it to Jaaga study. 

ABOUT

A little bit about my computer background before coming to Jagga study was that it didn't exist. I like most people had tried my hand at programming a number of sporadic times over the last couple years and failed miserably. Maybe it was a lack of work on my end(most likely) but it seemed to be a daunting task to become apart of the ever growing tech community without some form of guidance or reasonable amount of focused time. I had long been fascinated by programming and the idea of digital work. It was mainly due to the exciting nature of the occupation and a possibility to work remotely. My fantasy including a jungle island getaway with the ocean for an office view. 
I came across Jaaga while surfing the web looking for potential ways to kick-start my path in the computer programming world. Joining the javascript boot camp with little expectation. Early on i made the realisation that this was an engineering degree and that it takes some people multiple years to accomplish their goals in this field. So if i came out of this learning more than i already knew i was happy. Also the price was so fair it was unbelievable. It seemed like I just could not miss this great opportunity to live on a farm with room and 3 meals, learn to be a full stack(front and back end web) developer, start my mornings with yoga, and ride electric unicycles for what has now been three months. Most of this came true and more than i could have possibly imagined. 

THE PROGRAM
This article will be a brief discussion about what I have learned. And why if you’ve ever consider computer programming but haven't found the way to do it, that Jagga Study would be the place to go.

Before comming to the bootcamp I had basic computer skills and had completed some prerequisites with freecodecamp. Entering in to this tech arena was a whole other beast, truly something else. I was surrounded by intellectual giants who were throwing around computer science terminology like it was  on fire. It was all new to me. Foreign country and foreign computer languages. Needless to say i felt very out of place and found myself remembering fondly the growers champagne and “insert fancy wine” that came with  my previous job in the hospitality industry. Still there was so much excitement and i had considered myself lucky to be apart of something so cool. So bleeding edge.

I had arrvied a little less than a week before the start of the camp so I had time to explore a bit. In this first week I learned how to, in my personal opinion, ride one of mankind's greatest accomplishments the electric unicycle. The freedom that has been granted to me riding these electric unicycles is incomparable. You can pretty much go anywhere. But more on that another time. 
When we started class the first day i slowly realised i was the only one without a serious computer background. This was a little terrifying but I’ve heard we proceed boldly in the face of adversity. So I prepared myself for an interesting couple months. In the first week it was mostly a review of the basics (html/css) and the next weeks we would be moving forward learning more advanced topics (javascript, nodejs..etc).  Immediately I made the realisation that I was overwhelmed and under prepared(to be fair this was my original expectation). So even from day one I was struggling but it seemed okay until we got to javascript. The algorithms really kicked my rear-end and those are some things I still struggle with today. After beating myself up about it I had come to the conclusion that it is okay and that learning programming would take a little more time. 

Computer science is an evolving field  and Jaaga has taught me that we must adjust to evolve in synchronicity as well. This course was a full-stack web development course. Did I become a full fledged badass developer? Not yet but I am definitely much closer than when I started. The unexpected brain journey I took was more profound.  

The introduction to cryptocurrencey specifically ethereum was a mind-blower for me. Before this course I was adrift in a digital sea of information. I would hear whispers about far-out ideas and progressive movements but I had no chance to be part of it. That was until my introduction to the block-chain and a cryptocurrency called ethereum which was using smart contracts. If that sounds a little complicated thats because it was. Or I should say still is. Currently i have a much better understanding but it is just barely scratched the surface and still a bit confusing. But the fact that I was around people creating these contracts, planning for the future in multiple ways was definitely awe inspiring. 

Another side note that is slightly funny and possibly foreshadowing my computer odyssey. Was before the course had  even started i had spilled an ample amount of water on my laptop which of course rendered it useless. At that particular moment I assumed I would get it fixed but by the  time I got it to a repair shop i was told it was too late. Luckily Jaaga had an extra computer for me to use. As fate would have it I would be using an old school lenovo thinkpad that had array of English and Chinese characters. 

If learning how to become a developer wasn't hard enough I had an old Chinese computer that would freeze periodically and a keyboard where some of the buttons didn't match the characters that were written on them. 
So there were some challenges and unfortunately I didn't rise to meet all of them. It took me a couple months to get a laptop due to some financial issues but when i finally did i definitely saw an uptick in my productivity and comfort of using programming software. Also something to mention is that i could never use windows again only Linux specifically Ubuntu and that when i did finally get that computer it was full Circle that i got a newer version of the think pad, my new personal favourite computing device.

If you are still not sold on this place the fact that we did yoga on a regular basis before breakfast should peak your curiosity. The space created to learn technology and stay fit is genius. Its the perfect blend of the past and present. Science and spirituality. Consciousnesses and computers. Oh and unicycles. 

CONCLUSION

 The point i am trying to make by telling you all this is. If you want to learn something new Jaaga is the place to go to. If you have no  technological knowledge but have a drive to learn come to Jaaga. If you’re  a smart indvidual looking to expand your skills and network come to Jaaga. If you want to live on a farm where nature and tech join in a wonderful symbiosis then come to Jaaga. If you want to ride unicycles through Bangalore and pretty much be a total badass come to Jaaga. Last but not least if you want to meet some really cool people doing some really cool stuff i would most definitely. Come to Jaaga.
I will also be here next semester working on React and running a Conversational English for business workshop in Bangalore. Opportunities call and i hope to see you soon. Thank you.