Hi louis56, welcome to Maya and to Simply Maya. I also have 8.5 so I understand your frustration. The help files are really your best friend starting out as gster123 mentioned. It includes some basic tutorials that will really help you get started. there's also a "What's New" section that has some very useful info.

After a while, you'll get use to where the tools are as well as how to find them and what terminology to use for your searches. Then the older tutorials will be a breeze for you.

F3 will switch your menu's to the mesh but you don't have to use F3 (I do because it's quicker). But like Jr. Who said, there's a drop down box at the upper left of your screen below the file menu that has the same options as the F3 - F7(?).

Looking forward to seeing your Maya skills develop.