Every girl wants her first time to be special. I wanted my first official Rails event to be something small, intimate and meaningful. I tried to choose my first event carefully so as to not end up in a place like Las Vegas, from which I would be coming home feeling like a sold-out whore. Admittedly, I sound like an emo teenager but, it was important that my “first time” with Rails would be consequential. With that clarified, I’m so happy that I ended up going to Rails Camp New England last weekend after a last minute opening made it possible.

Close to 30 of us set down some roots for the weekend in an old Maine house in Bryant Pond. There was no internet access (except for an open access point near “the rock wall”); yet, somehow, cutting the cord felt invigorating. I actually had to talk to REAL people if I had a question, rather than rely on google’s infinite wisdom. And talking to people led to some really interesting conversation which, in my opinion, was the best part of the whole weekend. The veterans in the group shared experiences garnered from 20+ years as developers, and the young guys added so much energy to the room when they talked about their work. I spent so much time just talking to new people, to old friends, and even to myself at times, that I actually felt human. There was something humanizing about connecting with other people in a common but, visceral way.

There were Werewolf games, sharing of code, dining together, drinking together, collaborating creatively, sleeping in rooms together, canoeing, games of munchkin, lots of maiming in Urban Terror, and gathering over warm fires to roast marshmallows; all of these things seemed to tie each of us together in a very real way.

When Monday morning came, I found myself not wanting to leave the house or the people I had met. Clearly, this was an stunningly intimate experience, and I’m guessing that intimacy is generally hard to come by in groups of developers. I found myself being thankful I hadn’t gone to Rails Conf this year because, this was the perfect initiatory Rails event. I came out of it feeling even more enamored with Ruby and Rails, and the community that supports these languages. Kudos to Pat and Brian for making this event possible and doing their part to preserve the idiosyncrasies of the community.