You should try to get to lvl 20 first. Most of the enemies on the mainland are lvl 20 and above so it should be difficult for you if you are lower than that. I recently am playing a mesmer and after completing the Shing Jea island, I went to Tyria (GW:P) to lvl my character up to 20. Only then did I move to the Canthan mainland.

if u do every quest in shing jea + the 2 attribute quest and master in both mission u should be around 18 or 19, do a few easy quest in cantha, n u should hit 20 in no time

btw when u get to market place u should run to kaineng straight away to get more quest, and oso u can get max armor there