She came back from the other side almost immediately, remember? First episode of season 2. She went to Mike's house and the government people were there interviewing him. He saw her through the window (and probably convinced himself later he'd imagined it), the agents seemed to notice that he saw something, and Eleven had to run away.
Hopper and Joyce walked around over there for a while. Will spent about a week in the Upside Down. The Mind Flayer is an enormous hive spread across who knows how many other worlds. Think of it like the Borg. If you don't actually disturb it in some significant way you're beneath its notice. It may not have been aware of that one demogorgon's activities during the first season at all, at least not at the time. Assimilated creatures are "free" when it's not using them and behave as individual animals - spend too much time in the open over there and you're likely to stumble into a hungry demogorgon looking for lunch.
I don't think those things can actually see. They seem to have no eyes. Perpetual night is their native environment so it's not too surprising. The noises they make are probably some kind of sonar, which might let them see you at close range, but further away they could look straight in your direction and never know you were there ... as long as you stayed still and quiet. Find cover and avoid making noise and you should be able to elude them indefinitely. Oh and don't cut yourself. They can also smell blood like a shark. Will hid for days, but gave himself away by singing to stay awake.
El doesn't seem to get her abilities from the Upside Down. It's just that she's able to see through, and reach across, the barrier between dimensions. Maybe she could access other less dangerous worlds too. But when your powers are literally all in your head, mental and emotional issues could definitely affect your ability to use them.
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