[Liz]

Some supherb advice and targets below
Yes, finding your way around the night sky is tricky, and takes time. You sound like you can recognize a few constellation, thats a good start. Perhaps sit outside one 'clear' night, with a star chart, and see how many you can find. Orion is a great start, so work outwards from there. When I first started, I had NO IDEA so drew some of the brighter star patterns, and that worked for me
As Alex said, many of the galaxies are faint, so dont expect huge bright objects, apart from Magellanic Clouds, and Andromeda Galaxy. Galazies are great to hunt down when you know your way around a bit more.
Try for Omega Centauri and 47 Tuc in the south, as Alex suggested - they are amazing, and bright, and easy to find. Enjoy!!