Hi there,

I am very excited to introduce myself in my first column. I´m Denise Spaander, a girl 18 years old living in North Holland on a farm with my parents, brother and two little sisters.

It´s a nice, quiet place, it can be a dream for all the farmers.
I like to be on the farm, looking for work that I can do to help my family.

When I come from school, I like to do some chores that keep me busy for a while before completing my homework. I am doing my second year on the secondary vocational education, learning to be a teacher, it´s a course of three years. After this course I want to do an agricultural school.
I would like to learn more about the cows, the things to be a farmer and maybe technologie.

My heart is by the farm and working with the animals. The animals will give you peace and joy, they give you something back.
My hobbies are going out, drinking a beer with friends and active things like cycling, walking, shopping and running.

My name is Sarah Jung and I’m lactose intolerant.

No, not really.  Actually, kind of.  It’s a placebo-induced intolerance; one that I’ve been trying to overcome ever since I found out my mom only told us we’re allergic to dairy because she (still) believes it’s bad for our health.  Ah, those cheeseless, everything-less pizza days.  And yet, despite any faux-intolerance, I’ve always loved milky coffee, found myself lingering at the cheese counter in delis and supermarkets on more than a few occasions, and quickly made a habit of trading my bean burrito for string cheese during lunchtime.