So true (about Python vs. C). Same with java: I spend a lot of the time filling in straw. Python makes me think because almost every line is actually meaningful

So true (about Python vs. C). Same with java: I spend a lot of the time filling in straw. Python makes me think because almost every line is actually meaningful. As for how long with a new language: speaking without quantitative data, I'd say differences in motivation are much larger than differences in languages, for languages with a reasonable set of libraries (i.e. brainfuck and the like excluded).