Shabbat in Kharkov!

Hi everyone!
Nothing beats Shabbas in a foreign country, that's for sure. Something about the difference in culture but how constant all of our traditions are is just incredible to me. That we can speak entirely different languages, lead completely different lives on the opposite side of the world yet when the sun sets we all have at least one thing in common- we are Jews!
Last night, we brought in Shabbat at the JСС in Kharkov. The building itself is beautiful (it was designed to look like Jerusalem!), but what I remember most about the evening was saying prayers in Hebrew to the same tune. I felt this amazing connection to our peers simply through the fact that 6000 miles away, we still celebrate Shabbas (and other holidays, I presume) the same way. L'cha Dodi, we all sang, turned to the door, and welcomed the Shabbas Bride the way I've remembered doing it as far back as I can remember.
This morning, we took a walking tour of the city to Freedom Square, several monuments, a park and one of the last remaining synagogues from the previous regime. The walk was far and it was pretty hot outside, but I think everyone really enjoyed the trip! Lots to see here, so much history. I mean, how many people do you know that can say they've seen Kharkov, Ukraine? Not many! We definitely took advantage of the opportunity and took tons of touristy pictures.
Today we're going to start planning tomorrow's activity with local Ukrainian children, spend some time at our Hillel peers' homes and then go back to Freedom Square for a concert, followed by an end-of-shabbat party here at Hillel!
Looking forward to an even more incredible week,
Kari