On Friday, after getting back from a medical mission to Zhitomir, we headed down to Kreshatyk for some ice cream. When we got there we found half the city gathered in Independance Square wathing the World Cup! (There’s a really big screen that had the game on.) It was like being in a stadium almost. The crowd cheering, sighing, singing and making lots of noise… I’m not one to let a photographic oppourtunity like this pass so here are some of my favorite shots. (You can click on them for bigger versions, notes and descriptions.)

We weren’t planning on staying until the end of the game (in case the crowd got roudy) but it finished 10 minutes earlier then we thought, boy were we glad Ukraine won! Ukraine is the first former Soviet state to have made it to the “Round of 16″ in the World Cup and now, after beating Sweeden, is also the first to make it to the quarterfinals! Go Ukraine!