Last week was EuroPython in Krakow, and it was epic! I’ve wanted to go to the city for a while, so when I stumbled across a ticket, I booked as soon as I could.
I want to take a second and talk about the Python community. My first PyCon was last year in Austria. It being a free conference, I emailed beforehand and asked if they needed any help. After a noncommittal response, I arrived, was placed in charge of introducing speakers for a room, and got perhaps a little to excited. Blame it on the tourism background.
But they liked me enough to invite me back, and I returned this year as an organizer, speaker, and the only person allowed to moderate the lightning talks (so they informed me). I’ve also been twice to PyCon Lithuania, giving a total of three talks there, and I’ll be headed to Athens in October for PyCon Greece. And when I’ve got time, I hit the meetups here in Hamburg.
What is it about the Python community that draws me in? Part of it is networking, of course, and it’s always good to meet people who are better at things than you are. But more, it’s the opportunity to talk to those people who are better at things, in a safe environment.
I’d always felt a little outside the IT community. I mean, I’m just an economist who started doing a little scripting. I’m hopelessly lost when we leave the data world, although I find it fascinating what some folks do with networking, front-end development, and cryptography (and so much more). I do my data thing well, but I’m also a little niche.
So when I showed up at PyCon Austria, I was worried that I’d get “found out” and seen as some sort of poser. Very much the opposite, the other attendees and volunteers just wanted to share what they knew. The supportive environment was addictive, and now I’m kind of chasing that high.
I realize that there are other places in the programming world where I can find such fellowship, of course. But right now, Python does data really well. So I’m coding my preliminary platform in Python (probably Django, because jazz music), as well as using Python for the exercises.
And I have to say, it was pretty cool to be the very first lightning talk at EuroPython this year. That’s me in the picture, telling maybe a thousand people about my first hackathon! Of course I have to brag a little. And hey, maybe when this whole company is off the ground, I’ll be a real Python developer (but either way, I know I’ll have a place at the next PyCon).