Bewilderment

Hi,
I am completely new to Blender and have been trying to learn via the many available tutorials. What has got me totally confused is that when I open Blender, delete the cube, and add Suzanne she is face on but the view menu shows me I am in top view. If I change the view then use the hotkey for the front view, I get the top view. This makes following the tutorials a bit difficult as all that I have watched so far say things like return to front view and show Suzanne face on. Hope what I mean is clear and you can help me.

Jay