Reading Part 7 1: Find It Fast

A Lena I cycle to work along the canal. At first I found the hills hard, but after a month I hardly noticed them. The only problem is the rain: on wet days I arrive soaked, so I keep a spare set of clothes in my office. B Omar I take the train, which gives me forty minutes to read. I used to drive, but parking in the city centre cost me a fortune. The train isn't always on time, but I've got used to that, and I no longer get annoyed when it's late. C Hana I walk, because I live just fifteen minutes from the office. My colleagues think I'm lucky, and they're right. I'm saving up for a flat nearer the sea, though, so I'm afraid my short walk won't last for ever.

A Grace My first job was in a busy café when I was sixteen. I was terrible at it at first: I dropped plates, mixed up orders and once poured coffee over a customer's newspaper. The manager, Mr Dorran, never shouted at me. Instead, he spent his quiet afternoons showing me how to carry three plates at once. I manage a restaurant myself now, and I still try to treat new staff the way he treated me. B Felix I spent one summer delivering leaflets for a pizza company. The pay was poor, and I walked about fifteen kilometres a day. The thing I remember most, though, is the freedom. Nobody checked on me, so I could plan my own route and listen to music all day. It taught me to organise my time, which helped a lot when I started university. I wouldn't do it again, but I don't regret it for a moment. C Ines I worked in a clothes shop on Saturdays while I was still at school. I was so shy that I could hardly speak to customers, and for the first few weeks I hid in the stockroom whenever I could. Then the owner put me on the till, so I had no choice. By the end of the year, talking to strangers no longer frightened me. I'm a teacher now, and I'm sure that job is why I can stand in front of a class. D Ravi My uncle offered me a job in his garage when I left school. I turned it down because I wanted to work in an office, and my family was disappointed. The office job I found was boring, and after six months I asked my uncle if the offer was still open. Luckily, it was. Twenty years later I run the garage, and I've never once wished I'd stayed at a desk. E Zoe I was a lifeguard at an outdoor swimming pool for two summers. Most days were quiet, and I spent hours watching children splash about. On one very hot afternoon, though, I had to pull a young boy out of the deep end. He was fine, but I was shaking for an hour afterwards. People think lifeguarding is an easy job in the sun, but it's a serious responsibility, and I was proud to do it.

A Sofia When I moved to a new city for work, I didn't know a single person. I'd made up my mind to say yes to every invitation, so in my first month I went to a cooking class, a quiz night and a colleague's very long wedding. Not all of it was fun, but I met my two closest friends at that quiz. Now, three years later, the city feels more like home than the town where I grew up. B Marcus I moved to the city for university and expected to love it. Instead, I found it noisy and exhausting. I couldn't sleep because of the traffic, and the rent was so high that I could only afford a tiny room above a takeaway. I kept going for a year, then transferred to a smaller university by the sea. I've never been happier, and I'm glad I didn't wait any longer. C Aiko The hardest thing for me was the language. I had studied it for two years before I arrived, but people spoke much faster than the voices on my course recordings. For months I just nodded and smiled. The thing that helped most was a part-time job in a bakery, where I had to understand customers whether I wanted to or not. Today, people sometimes ask which part of the country I'm from. D Kwame I didn't choose to move: my company closed its local office, and I had to transfer or lose my job. I was really concerned about my children, who were leaving all their friends behind. In fact, they settled in faster than I did. My son joined a football team in the first week, and my daughter came across a drama club that she loves. I was the one who missed our old life. E Nadia I'd always lived in the countryside, so I found it strange to share space with so many people. On my first morning, I waited for three buses because they were too full to get on. It took me about a year to get used to the crowds. These days I actually take pleasure in the energy of the place, though I still go back to my parents' farm whenever I need a quiet weekend.