WOW, this post brings back a lot of memories...
30+ years ago, I was in the same position, I wanted to learn Basic and more important, I wanted to learn C. WHY? Because I wanted to write software for the Amiga! This eventually lead to very long career in IT.
This is the honest truth, I learned C through reading example code and compiling the examples in the Amiga RKM. Ah, the good old days...
Sorry, I can't be more help...THANKS for the trip down memory lane! :-)