A Semi-Dutchie, by Vani Chokra

Poetry, prose, chapbook, 48 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

A Semi-Dutchie is a collection of poems and essays about building a life in a place you know you will eventually leave. During two years in the Netherlands, the author learns Dutch, figures out the recycling schedule, rides a bicycle, participates in holiday traditions, and slowly begins to feel at home.

Through neighborhood barbecues, Saturday markets, shared whisky, Dutch gingerbread, and the occasional longing for American toilet paper, the Netherlands starts to grow familiar. Strangers become friends, neighbors become familiar faces, and a little boy next door opens a door to a part of her she had not expected to find. A friendship built over twenty-three cappuccinos becomes an anchor. With humor and warmth, A Semi-Dutchie explores what happens when a temporary life starts to feel real and what you take with you when you leave.

Vani Chokra is a writer based in Charlotte, North Carolina. A graduate of Delhi University and Case Western Reserve University, she works in the corporate world and writes poetry and nonfiction to explore place, belonging, and identity.