My parents own nothing but manual transmission vehicles (the newest of these is a '69 VW crew cab pickup) and before my father would let either my sister or I TOUCH one of his clutches we had private driving lessons - in someone else's stickshift. My instructor used a local high school parking lot that had a more-than-slight incline at one of the exits and that's where I learned to start up on a hill. The suggestion of using the parking brake is a good one. I still use that trick in the old pickup on very steep hills if there's anyone directly behind me. . . just to be safe. And, boy, did I love to take the Morgan or the MG into the west hills around Portland - there's nothing like a manual transmission for control on winding roads!
Take your time, find a large parking lot for practice - and then enjoy!
PB