I am in a similar situation.. I consider myself very proficient in PHP (and have been doing it full-time for 2 years since school). Being forced to use one lang

I am in a similar situation.. I consider myself very proficient in PHP (and have been doing it full-time for 2 years since school). Being forced to use one language all the time didn't sit too well with me. Recently, I picked up a few python books and made a new app just for fun with python/GAE. 100% free (minus the book costs) and it was eye opening in many regards. Seeing all the beautiful language constructs that python has available compared to PHP made me very jealous. I fully intend to jump into the Ruby world eventually to see what all the fuss is about - However, I recommend you do what I did and try some small stuff with GAE just because of the ridiculously easy setup/deployment. Lets you focus more on the language and coding.