First month, start of university

Sorry for not updating in ages!
I have been really busy with getting to know the area, making Japanese friends and since last week with the start of classes!

Since my last post, I have visited Odawara, a place in Kanagawa prefecture with a really nice castle, and Odaiba, an artificial island in the Tokyo bay that has lots of shopping opportunities and is known as a dating spot (I went with a huge group of Waseda people, though, but I made a new friend during the time there.)

Last Monday, classes have started, and that's when chaos came upon me. What happened, you may ask? Well, of course, the start of a new semester is almost always hectic, especially at a new university, but I would say my case is especially bad.
According to the placement test they made us some time ago, I got placed into level 6 out of 8. For someone who has only been studying Japanese for 2 years, that's really high, right?
... Turns out it was way too high. ^^; At the first day of classes, I had really huge problems with the test that was supposed to check if we were right in the assigned level. Turns out I wasn't, after all. I expected that, but still it was quite cruel to realize that. Especially since everyone asked me for my level and I had to say 6, so now when they ask me how level 6 is, I have to admit I went down.
Which is what I did. Went down in the level, I mean. At first, I thought of going to level 5, but even there I came across a lot of grammar and kanji I haven't learned so far. And after a lot of consultations with the nice Sensei's, it turned out that level 4 was more or less preparing students for the Japanese Language Profiency Test Level 2, which is what I wanted to take next year anyway.
So now I changed my core class to level 4, as well as all of the electives like writing, reading or Kanji, and will take listening and speaking in level 5, as I tend to be better there.
The problem with my core class was that the one for Bekka students (Bekka = programme for foreign students who study only Japanese for a year, as opposed to e.g. SILS, which means you take Japanese classes and English lectures) was full already, so they put me into a normal undergraduate class which has the same schedule, but... I am the only non-Asian in the whole class. The coordinator was worried if he should put me in there because "everyone there is really young, around 20, whereas Bekka students tend to be older". As I am twenty as well, I don't mind their ages, but in the breaks, everyone speaks Chinese or Korean. >____< I still hope I can make some friends, and if not - well, I must remember to bring a good book. :)

Unfortunately, due to this organisational problem, I missed many of the first classes, like for reading level 4. I have until next week to change my electives, but I am a bit worried I won't get the mandatory sign of the teacher because I didn't attend the first class (which I couldn't, as I sat in level 6.)

So, future Waseda exchange students: If you happen to be unsure about your level, try to go to the office as soon as possible, and ask them for the check test for the level.
If, like me, the only Japanese you have learned before coming here (apart from obscure drama vocabulary) is Minna no Nihongo volume 1 & 2, you might also be most comfortable with level 4.

And now excuse me, I need to unpack the stuff I bought at the 100 Yen shop and do some more homework. ^^;