When you live in a city where most of the homeless people can beg for money in three different languages, you know it’s international. Out of the 19,000 undergraduates at McGill, 3,660 of them are from outside of Canada. Encompassing over 4,000 students, including graduates and part-timers, the McGill International Student Network is one of McGill’s most valued student organizations. MISN helps foreign students adjust to Montreal’s icicle-esque weather with activities that do not usually involve the high intellect associated with Frosh. Chinatown dinners, crêpe-making, movie nights and potlucks are only a few of the countless activities that the organization hosts.

MISN lives up to its name by encouraging students to explore life outside of Montreal. Each year, the club organizes trips to Quebec City, Boston and New York. But, don’t worry; it’s not all just fun and games. If you’re looking for someone to teach you that other language they speak in Montreal besides English, or if you just want to meet a cute Italian guy or gal, MISN offers free language classes in a self-described “very, very laid back setting,”

And if learning isn’t your thing, you can join in hopes of receiving a free down jacket from MISN’s “winter coat program” in January! The MISN lounge is always full of friendly international students, all carrying different legal passports.

The breakdown of MISN this year includes French, Chinese, Dutch and Danish members. According to MISN execs, the Canadian group has the hottest guys and girls.

One of the major issues that MISN deals with is the continuous rise in tuition for international students. It seems that the costs are directly proportional to the difficulty of getting a job off campus; students on a study visa have to wait months to receive an off-campus work permit. Not only do international students struggle with the job search, but most of them come to Montreal from non-English speaking countries.

“Internationals usually don’t know anyone,” explains Claire-Marie Messier, U2 Physics, Vice-President Events. “The first weeks are usually pretty hard.” It takes a larger effort on their part to fit in, to understand all the beaver jokes, to get used to the unbearable winters and to learn how to wrap scarves for maximum protection.

Each year, a new batch of students arrives from around the globe. The International Student Services office directs all of them to MISN-no wonder it’s so huge. So if you’re from the Great White North realize that you are definitely not alone and maybe see what suite 1100 in Shatner is all about. And if you are from Canada, damn you for your lower tuition rates.