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I'm an American-Chinese, so instinctively have grown a tolerance for disgusting cheeses. I love its greasy, unhealthy texture as you swallow, feeling life ebb away with every bite. I swear, Americans are actually the dumbest creatures on earth. They ask themselves: why are we getting fat? Maybe they shouldn't ask that question around a Mcdonald's table munching on three Big Macs. But certainly, cheese is a large part of the issue. Perhaps instead of blaming it on the real cause, we all should simply point fingers elsewhere, at the Netherlands.

Maybe Americans are growing wider because of the high quality and tastiness of the cheese produced in the Netherlands. Over many years, the Dutch have shipped out tons of beautiful cheeses produced in a caring and hard-working way that defies the American-manufactured mush-mush. Cheesemaking has become an icon of its culture and heritage. Instead of sounding like a TV spokesperson, I just went to a family-run cheese farm in the rural Kinderdijk of the Netherlands, meeting a family that had run the same farm for six generations. Along the way, they somehow learned to speak wonderful English as well, which was a little help during the tour. And with all respect to the cheese community, I, personally after this trip, will not touch cheese for another month or so.

The tour was split fifty-fifty between cheese and cows, both ingredients on an American burger. Although the cheese tour was the highlight of the essential tour, I enjoyed the second half thoroughly. Cheese-wise, all my senses had a good time from sight to taste and touch, but the nose took a beating. From room to room, one daughter of the owner took us step by step through the process of making quality cheese, from separating the water to packaging. Each room brought something new, technology, and a new stack of cheeses. The shelves filled with cheese, and the orange, red, black, green, and yellow colors looked almost artificial. From beginning to end, I felt uneasy and a bit unsteady. However, I managed to hold on to my potatoes from the morning. And I've seen more cheese than I've eaten in my life. It's actually scary that an average American could eat all the stacks on stacks of cheese in one lifetime.

I felt really queasy, and therefore I didn't taste much cheese (only the expensive ones). However, even the slightest fat can churn into an uneasy digestive process. Especially when you spend the next hour next to the cows. Those cows, although smelling worse than the cheese, was kind of cute, except the one that drooled on me. I would think she was trying to kiss me. The owner of the farm described the life of the cows, as well as gave the regular lecture on how his cows were somehow more natural than the other farms. I don't need to hear it. Sometimes, just seeing cows grazing in fields is a good sign enough.

I don't know which kind of cow I like better: the one that moos or the one in my stomach. Ouch, that felt mean. Regardless, today was about cheese, not the controversy over the lives of animals. Although we didn't buy any, a bit of the cheese will always remain ingrained in my mind, mainly because of the smell. Sooner or later, though, I'll have to 'moo've on.

【红霞译文】

我是美籍华裔，因此天生对刺激胃酸分泌的奶酪具有耐受力，本人喜欢质感油腻不益于健康的东西，而且越吃越来劲，我敢发誓美国佬肯定是世上最轴的生物，难怪他们嘀咕：为何我们发胖？或许他们不该坐在麦当劳店一边嚼着三倍大小的巨无霸汉堡一边提及那个问题，但奶酪毕竟是罪魁祸首，我们大可不必刨根问底，只要把矛头对准其它地方──荷兰，准保没错。

正因为荷兰生产质量优良品味上乘的奶酪，美国才有可能人丁兴旺。多年来，荷兰人输出了大量精心制作的手工奶酪，结果让口感平平的美国产品无地自容，奶酪生产已然成为荷兰民族与文化遗产的象征，不像电视台新闻报道，这回我亲自去荷兰孩童堤防郊外一家奶酪农场，零距离接触这个经营已有六代历史的家族企业。过去漫长岁月中，他们不知不觉地学会说一口流利的英语，对接待游客有些帮助。在尊重奶酪行业的前提下，参观完毕后未来一个月左右我个人将不再跟奶酪打交道。

这次参观内容奶酪与奶牛各半，两者均为美式汉堡食材，虽然奶酪生产是此行重点项目，但我更喜欢后面第二部分。就奶酪而言，从观摩到品尝触摸我一直觉得挺好玩，但鼻子负荷太重。农场主女儿带我们挨个车间转悠，自脱水分离至奶酪包装一步一步讲解制造优质奶酪工艺流程，每个车间无论在生产技术上还是奶酪品种上各有不同，货架上摆满了橘色、红色、黑色、绿色和黄色产品，如同人工涂抹的颜料一般。我自始至终身体不适，感觉有点较劲，好在早饭下肚的土豆安然无恙，眼前我所看见的奶酪要比这辈子吃的多得多，平均每位美国人一生都能干掉铺天盖地的奶酪实在太恐怖了。

因为肠胃状况欠佳，所以我没尝很多奶酪(仅有价格昂贵的)。然而，即使一丁点脂肪足以叫消化系统吃不了兜着走，特别当你在接下来个把钟头内还要跟奶牛打成一片，虽说这些家伙比奶酪更难闻，但长相极其可爱，除了一只直往我身上流哈喇子，大概牠想亲吻我。这时农场主介绍起奶牛生活，顺便讲述他家奶牛比别家的更天然，我无需听其原委，只要看到牛群遍野也就心满意足。

我不知道自己更喜欢哪种奶牛：爱叫唤的或供享用的。天哪，太过分了。不管怎样，反正今天是冲奶酪来的而不是争论动物生存问题。我们倒没买回什么东西，但由于气味所致，小小奶酪将永远铭刻在我的脑海里，只是过一会儿我要哞（蓦）然离去。

Today in History(历史上的今天):

2017: Waal River—Distributary Rhine, NLD(荷兰外河—莱茵河分流)

2017: Nijmegen the Oldest City, NLD(荷兰最古老的城市—新集市城)

2017: Zaltbommel @ the Waal, Netherlands(荷兰外河畔—盐城)

2017: Dordrecht the Sheep's Heads, NLD(荷兰通道市—羊头商城)

2017: Kinderdijk Windmills, Netherlands(荷兰孩童堤防)