Keep trying to contact someone. It will help to a great degree when you hook up. It will save a lot of grief in the long run, and you will probably see some things that you wouldn't by yourself.
The sim is good, but it can't teach a lot of the small things that are really nice to know, and there are quite a few safety issues to learn.
Once you learn to relax, you will start having a lot of fun, until you learn what all to do and take care of, you won't relax. Don't worry, we all went through the learning curve, some with a lot fewer lumps and bumps on the way. All of us here want you to be successful.
Welcome to RCU!