Nordgren, 28, is working toward an English degree at the community college. Since birth, a degenerative retinal disease has been stealing his sight, and last year, he was diagnosed as legally blind. Someday, he hopes to become a college professor to help support his wife, Lynette, and their three kids.

"I have faith that everything will work out all right," he says.

The suits

Pat Larter boards the bus at the 6400 South TRAX station, taking a seat near the front of the bus. He wears glasses and is dressed in black and gray. He doesn't talk with his fellow riders. He just observes.

For 30 years, Larter worked as an engineer for the federal government. Now he teaches math at the community college. It's a job he says he enjoys more than engineering.

Hopkin, meanwhile, has an hourlong commute each morning. He'll take the bus from Orem, transfer to TRAX, then take the State Street bus to the Eye Institute of Utah in Murray, where he's doing a three-month rotation for optometry school.

To save money, he's living at his parents' home in Orem with his wife and 19-month-old child. He says he takes the bus because it gives him time to study for board exams.

"The commute is killing me as far as spending time with my kid," he says.

Learning English

Each morning, a group of people will exit the bus about 2400 South to go to English classes at the Granite Education Center. They include Gomez, who is from Colombia; Foroog Fhalili, from Iran; and Kenia Santiago, from Mexico. They talk to each other, but they don't interact much with passengers such as Larter, who sits nearby.

A group of Russian women also boards the bus together to go to ESL classes. They speak no English, always sit near the front of the bus, and sometimes get into fast-paced conversations. One has eyeteeth capped with gold.

Fhalili, a petite woman who often wears a head covering, nods at the driver with a slight smile when she boards, then takes a seat near the center of the bus. She sits up straight and clutches a bag on her lap with both hands.

She has lived in Utah for four years and has four children, one of whom lives in the state. "Utah is very small, but you live very good," she says.

The route

Paths that cross, space shared in a daily routine. The Route 22 bus continues up the street, and people get off and go their individual ways. Other passengers board, glancing at the faces, and then they find a seat.

---

E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com