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BOTA | World Views & Culture
You're listening to BOTA, the podcast that shares world views, culture, careers, and all the above from an Albanian American perspective. I'm your host Leonita and here I interview inspiring people who are experts in their field and have achieved significant milestones in their life. But most importantly, it’s a place for people to find their voice and share their stories. A place where they feel comfortable to express their ideas, aspirations, and offer listeners an inside look into the highs and lows of their lives.Stories of culture, hardships, perseverance, insight, and success. Follow on Instagram @botapodcast. Listen to podcast episodes on Apple Podcast + Spotify + Buzzsprout + everywhere you listen to podcasts.
Episodes
25 episodes
Emina Pelja Owner of Balkan Bred: Entrepreneurship + Podcasting + Building a Brand
Emina is originally from Bosnia. Her parents moved to the USA a few years before she was born due to conflicts during the Yugoslavian war in the mid 90s. Her parents drove from Seattle, Washington to Atlanta, Georgia. She was born in '96 and gr...
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Season 1
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Episode 26
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58:35
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Balkansim the Page
Today's episode I sit down with Arbër admin for an instagram page called "Balkanism__".He is a history major and has a passion for the Balkan region. He is originally from Kosova, living in the United Kingdom. He expresses the complexit...
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Season 1
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Episode 25
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48:18
Sania Vucetaj: Eyebrow Queen of New York City 'Sania's Brow Bar'
Sania's Brow Bar opened in 2004 and took the beauty world by storm with the full, luscious, thick eyebrows. Sania is a mom of four, a wife, and an entrepreneur who built a loyal & loving clientele & landed celebrity client...
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Season 1
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Episode 24
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41:27
Klodjana Co-Founder of NKD SWIM: Ethical, Sustainable, and Body Positive Swimwear
Klodjana was born in a small city of Kuçovë, Albania. When she was 12 years old her parents moved to Canada. From there they ended up moving to different cities in a short span of time, only staying in the city for a few years at a time. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 23
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36:45
Ledi Vokshi: Singer to Business Coach & Mom & Advocate
Ledi Vokshi's family is originally from Kosova. Her family moved to Albania and her parents where born in Durres, Albania, where she was also born. She came to New York as a young kid with her family. She became a trained opera singer a...
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Season 1
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Episode 22
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1:08:09
Armando Gjetja MMA Fighter: Discipline, Determination, and Devotion
Armando moved from Albania to Italy with his family as three year old. He grew up there and speaks fluent Italian, and learned to love many different languages. A passion for languages. He speaks Italian, French, Albanian, and English. ...
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Season 1
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Episode 21
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1:07:16
Alma Olaveson: Mindfulness Advocate, Awareness, Minimalism and Healing
Alma has learned that through her life she dealt with trauma and found a way to heal, and to help others heal became a passion her her. She displays poise and insight on her life and how people and events (such as communism) effected the ones a...
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Season 1
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Episode 20
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56:04
Balkan Bites NYC: Co-founders Ariana and Alida Malushi. A story of family, culture, and burek
Todays episode I sit down with the co-founder of Balkan Bites, Ariana Malushi. She was born in the US and her dad is from Kosovo and her mom from Croatia. She always had a love for balkan food, and enjoyed traveling. On one of her ventu...
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Season 1
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Episode 19
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33:26
Leonarda Is Funny: Comedian "The Crazy Albanian"
Comedian Leonarda Jonie, also known by her instagram handle, @leonardaisfunny, or even better as the hilarious and totally familiar "Albanian Mom" is our leading act on our newest episode...
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Season 1
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Episode 18
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38:19
DJ Jack Music Producer: Combining Albanian beats in a modern way
DJ Jack, also known as Gjoka Nikac, was born and grew up in Queens, New York. His parents are Albanian and moved to Montenegro and then to New York at a young age. He loves the Albanian culture and family is very important to him. He is...
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Season 1
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Episode 17
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57:15
Florinda Kajtazi Miss New York USA 2019
A dream of becoming a doctor and standing up against violence. This is a journey of strength and inner beauty. Florinda is gorgeous, a true beauty, but with an even more beautiful heart. She was crowned Miss New York USA 2019 and could see many...
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Season 1
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Episode 16
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1:14:52
Grupi Krenaria Albanian Traditional Dance Group of Michigan
On this episode I sit with the co-founders of Grupi Krenaria, Melisa and Kristian. They tell me all about how they got started on making this group get together. They both share a passion for dance and seeing Albanian dance at their local churc...
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Season 1
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Episode 15
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26:39
Healthillie Holistic Health Coach: How whole real foods can heal and ways to reduce toxins from your life.
@Healthillie is a holistic health coach from New York, who started off wanting to get abs, and super fit and was living that hard core fitness life. Supplements, bulking and cutting to gain muscle. However she found that even though she looked ...
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Season 1
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Episode 14
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43:59
Kristina Nikolaj Empowerment Coach & Breathwork Healer
Kristina found a way to heal by tuning into her breathe, listening to inspirational and motivations speakers, and working with healers to help guide her on her path. She realized that her calling is to help her family and to help others. She sh...
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Season 1
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Episode 13
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54:48
Ina of Bloom Yoga: The benefits of yoga and how to get that mind and body connection
Ina has been a Registered Yoga Instructor and working at her craft for the past 7 years. She came to USA from Albania when she was 7 years old and found a passion for yoga when a friend begged her to join her for a class. That moment she got on...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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32:08
KerolinTV TikTok & IG Fitness Mom and Health Influencer
Kerolin came to Canada from Albania when she was 7 years old with her family. When she was a teen she began lifting weight and become obsessed in not so healthy way. She then got married and now has 2 kids. She decided she would get back into f...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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53:09
Merita Dovolani Mother, Wife, and Author of The Albanian Table Cookbook 'Sofra Shqiptare'
Merita Dovolani comes from a big Albanian family - the youngest of 7 children - from the Dibër part of Albanian and married into another big family - her husband is from Dibër, Macedonia. She was born in Italy and came to the United States when...
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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52:46
Krenare Aliu Lifestyle Digital Creator & Podcaster: Inspirations, photography, podcaster Hustle+Heart
Krenare is someone who is always striving and doing the things she enjoys. She has a graduate degree in higher education and works in University recruitment, but has a passion for her artistic side. She believes you can have a side hustles and ...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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38:43
Vilma Tomaj Connecticut Realtor: A millennial journey into real estate.
Vilma is a millennial having been immersed into the new age of technology and finding a way to give her real estate work a modern touch and always recognizing a traditional approach. Vilma was figuring out what she wanted to do in h...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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32:51
Elona Lopari Career & Business Coach. Founder of EL Coaching Life School
Elona Lopari came to the US from Tirana Albania when she was 15. After graduating college with a Business, Management and Finance degree she began working at a Drug and Beauty Retail Company named Walgreens Boots Alliance and then promoted to h...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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35:01
Samantha Sarelli Miss Connecticut Teen USA 2020
Sam is first generation Albanian American who has represented young women in our community in such a positive way. More than just a beauty queen, she is an inspiration, advocate, and role model for so many young women. She persevered and won Mi...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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47:33
Monika Koleci Author of 'Shame Among the Shameless'
Monika Koleci is the author of the book "Shame Among the Shameless" a heart-wrenching story of a family from Fishtë, Lezhë, Albania, who were harshly persecuted for resisting the country’s communist regime that came into power during the...
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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38:00
Marina Ivezaj Writer + Illustrator of 'Imagine Colors with Megi'
I sit and chat with Marina Ivezaj about her inspiration and process to publishing her first children's book "Imagine Colors with Megi". A school project she worked on with her son reignited a passion in writing and illustrating her own storyboo...
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Season 1
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Episode 4
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16:15
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Edon Molla Singer + Songwriter: A rising star from Kosova to NYC
Edon Molla just dropped his newest Album "For Merita" and it is amazing. He has a true talent. He sang, wrote, played the instruments, and engineered the entire album. Born in Kosova, he moved to New York with with family. He started playing ba...
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Season 1
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Episode 2
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31:17
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