Hi everyone,
I noticed last weekend some people wrote on the forum who wanted to pair-program. It’s a bit awkward to set up sometimes (and some people might be a bit intimidated to message in the Let’sPair gitter chat), so I thought if people are interested, we could try hosting a TRY-PAIR-PROGRAMMING-FESTIVAL this weekend. It’ll just be a relaxed, no-pressure way to try out something that can help you improve your coding skills. You can work on FCC challenges, a small project, or whatever you and your partner feel like.
If you’re interested, leave a comment with your timezone, when you’re free, and where you are on the FCC map (curriculum) and sometime before the weekend I’ll set the pairs.
The event will happen this weekend (November 5-6), but if you’re not free this weekend let me know and I can probably pair you with someone during another weekend. 
Also worth noting: YOUR CODING LEVEL DOESN’T MATTER. Whether you’re just starting on HTML/CSS or if you’re the Bruce Lee of Javascript, pairing is helpful regardless (just mentioning this because I’ve gotten some messages about this ).
Happy coding!
ps if you’re curious about how it will work, here’s an article that may help: https://medium.com/@chancetaken/welcome-rhinos-to-the-international-try-pair-programming-festival-of-2016-2b4b02434734#.qel76nl77
!!!EDIT: PAIRS BELOW !!!
HUGE SHOUT-OUT TO @Ikarus11 and @mmartinb for helping with the mental gymnastics of setting this up!
I was personal messaging everyone with their pairs, but apparently you can only send so many personal messages and it says I now how have to wait 5 hours, so I’ll post it here.
Hello ambitious campers!
So, we’ve made 18 pairs, which took a little mental gymnastics to combine all the variables, but it wasn’t too bad! 
We tried to pair people based on level, timezone and time free. Unfortunately, not all of the pairings are going to fit perfectly with everyone’s schedules. I apologize in advance for this but if we’re all flexible, all shall be okay!
I think it’s worth repeating: flexibility is the most important thing to keep in mind for the festival. Stuff isn’t going to work perfectly at all time (internet connections, schedules, differing skillsets etc.), and that’s actually good in a way. One of the benefits of pair programming is it gets you a little bit out of your comfort zone (where all the good learning happens). 
We’ve made a total of 18 pairs. You can see your pairings here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sgmu0JASCGdaVG1CCTgHfr5jWxZTaLLLgAZR_CU0PnY/edit?usp=sharing
I recommend messaging your pair-partner in the FCC forum to chat about what time works best for both of you. You can find everyone by clicking the link in the spreadsheet or in the comments of the post I made. I’ve hosted 3 Pair-Programming festivals before this, and we’ve found Screenhero to be the best tool, but unfortunately you someone to invite you. I can send anyone who wants to use this an invite to Screenhero. Just personal message me your email and I’ll send it along as soon as I can.
Also, for simplicity’s sake, I made a pop-up gitter chat where we can all talk. I will be around the house all weekend, so if you have any questions, myself or someone else should be around to answer fairly quickly. Come in and say hello! https://gitter.im/international-pair-program-festival/Lobby#
ps a few people here have messaged me asking if there is any room in the FCC cohorts that I started a few months back. All three are full, but I’m open to starting a new one if enough people are interested. Shoot me a message if interested.
If you have any questions or are having trouble with something, feel free to message me!
HAPPY CODING CAMPERS!!
ps. if a lot of people liked this and are interested in doing it again next month, I don’t mind setting it up again. Also, as @pnahratow mentioned I recommend checking out the letspair channel sometime!
