JSON! at the Airport
Tags: codenewbie, beginners, learning, devjournal
Published: 2023-10-31 22:31:00

The most stressful part of travel is the whole airport experience, yeah?

You know, for prep time, I thought the old rule was get there _1 hour before_ for domestic and _2 hours before_ for international. My girlfriend said it was 2 and 3, which I've never heard before, but she provided proof:

![Airline email snippet reaffirming the recommended times to show up before domestic and international travel](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/bdg5vl5g0dj2skrdt8qi.png)

And reading that text over again, it only now dawned on me that all that extra time is supposed to be part of the contingency once you're actually there. That's not taking into account traffic on the way. Luckily, the roads of Mexico City were silent at 3:30 AM-- the quietest we'd seen it since our visit. 

We had issues with trying to check in through the Aeromexico site and app the night before. But with only carry ons, and no checked bags or items to declare, the self-service kiosk should be easy peasy.

Except,

`err`

`err`

`err`

(I wish I took a photo of the err code)

I could tell my girlfriend was getting more and more anxious with each attempt and restart. The mind starts jumping to the worst fears, of course.

But then I see the latest message:

`something something JSON err something something`


![Pointing Rick Dalton (diCaprio) Meme](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/jdwhab8c9kap6z2wg1k2.jpg)

I couldn't tell you all the ins and outs of JSON or what it stands for. But, it's not a syntax that's completely alien to me either. See it with the little REACT work I've done. A package handler of sorts.

Something with handling API, I think.

So if there's an API, there's a database. Okay, the kiosk is probably just having issue _retrieving_ the data versus any issue with the actual data (i.e. our booked flights).

And sure enough, when we spoke to a service agent, we got printed boarded passes without issue!

I know I did all that setup at the beginning about airports, but I'm going to break away to the real heart of the matter:

Recognizing the unknown feels awesome!

It's one of the best parts of the otherwise demoralizing learning process. Sure, you can take classes and lessons, do quizzes, then get scores in order to feel a sense of progression.

But if you've ever learned a language before, you know there's a disconnect between feeling like you learned something versus actually learning it. I saw it in my students when I taught English. There were kids who didn't think they had the skills because they didn't "feel it" or see it reflected.

Then, there were some kids who thought they were hot shit because they had the grades, but the capability was non-existent. (I can say it bluntly like that because classroom life is a decade ago!)

I've also experienced this myself in learning Japanese. To put effort, then not know if you're actually improving... only to get that Matrix moment where it all comes together when you stick with it.

With all the ups and downs and feeling stupid with learning code this past year, this JSON recognition will be one of those Matrix moments.