I did it!

I made it up a hill today! It was a tough go, I stood up for a minute too to keep going, though I'm still wobbly when standing. Oh and my gears are frustrating me...is there a reason why they decide to take 15 minutes or longer to do the last click onto the right gear? It seldom makes the switch all at once...is this normal? This might be why the last bike rarely had it's gears changed.