Don't confuse Node with Javascript. Node and the browser are where all the async behavior comes from, not JS. Specifically; if you've ever done any backend coding in Meteor, there is practically no async behavior at all.

But I do agree: Sometimes I see people try to push Node/Express as a good choice for teaching basic APIs. Its not the worst choice, but its startling how easy it is to forget how insanely confusing async callbacks are for new devs.