Somehow there are only four days left in Haller, and I couldn’t be any more surprised. I know I’ve said this before, but it’s almost as if it was just yesterday that we landed in Belfast and met up with Conor. Yet, it couldn’t be more true. We’ve done many things over the last two days: work and fun-related–I think that’s why the time passed so fast.

Yesterday, we went to the Downings Festival, where we met SO many travellers at the beach town. As you’re pulling into town, you feel and smell an air of salty seawater. The experience immerses you in the atmosphere of the festival, and it’s unlike anything we’ve been to. There were crowds and crowds of all age ranges: from the young kids playing at the amusement park rides, to the teenagers walking and goofing around on the pier, to the copious adults drinking at the Harbour Bar. The buses full of people poured in, too. It’s crazy how much outside attention the festival gets, as the people come in by the busload. This translates into a LOT of money, too! Every restaurant, gift shop, and hotel was completely packed! I believe that this is due to their exposure to the outside communities, as even people in Carrigart heard about the festival and were driving down.

Today, we went back to Carrigart to continue working on our project, too! We have dedicated time towards the project whenever we could, but not as much as today. Being able to have a controlled environment that we’re able to work helps a lot. As for Downings, the touristic nature of the area held a lot of benefits for it. Having more tourism in Carrigart, I believe, would help stimulate the economy. Downings benefits a lot from tourism and outside customers, especially because it’s a place with so many attractions and festivals. If Carrigart held more festivals and events, it would definitely benefit economically.

All in all, it was a very eventful two days full of both work and life. One thing I love about this program is that everything is in moderation: tourism and education go hand-in-hand, and work occurs while having fun.