We've all been there before. I'm not sure how everyone else here learned the ropes around an engine bay, but me personally, I studied here:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-en...ce-channel.htm
I printed out every page there, put it into a binder and studied it whenever I could. I don't have any parents/relatives/friends who could teach me, so that site was the next best thing. I'd recommend it to anyone who's wanting to learn about engines.
I'm also going to move this to Off Topic since it really doesn't have to do with engine modifications/maintnence or anything.