Pennyboarders of Houston

I've been learning how to penny board for about two days now and

1. how the heck y'all skate over anything other than smooth pavement
2. how long did it take y'all to comfortably skate on a penny board and comfortably skate around crowds
3. pls give me tips and advice

I think the only trouble I'm having now is not pushing hard enough so when I turn, my turns are really slow and also having trouble with sharp turns

*posted this same question in r/UniversityOfHouston