Balkan Sis

EPISODE ONE — Nicole Stojanovska on Creating Gia: A Wog Chick Comedy

This week on Balkan Sis, I'm sitting down with Nicole Stojanovska, the Horsley-raised, Macedonian and Italian filmmaker behind Gia: A Wog Chick Comedy, a nine-episode comedy web series putting wog women at the centre of the story for the first time in decades. Made under her production company Parthenope Pictures, Gia follows Gia Granato, a sardonic, Sartre-quoting bookworm forced back in with her old-school Italian parents after her marriage falls apart.

We go back to little Nicole first, then into the story behind Gia, the characters, why wog comedy has been such a boys' club for so long, her Portuguese boyfriend, her Michael Jackson addiction, and what it actually takes to follow a creative passion this far.

Gia: A Wog Chick Comedy — official links

• Website: https://www.giaseries.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/giatheseries
• Facebook: facebook.com/giatheseries
• Donate / support the project: https://buy.stripe.com/aFabJ3cyvdbM8D1fuW7kc02
• General contact: [email protected]

Nicole's other work

• The Things We Bury (writer/producer, with director Nuno Dias) — Winner, Best Film, Creative Wollongong Short Film Festival 2026. Watch: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thethingswebury/1130390452
• YOUTH — short film, 2024 Creative Wollongong Short Film Competition
• Production company: Parthenope Pictures

A huge thank you to Meraki Entertainment for supporting both episodes of this two-part special. Meraki: https://merakientertainment.com.au

If you enjoyed this episode, please give us five stars and rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, it genuinely helps the show reach more people.

Follow Balkan Sis

• Facebook: facebook.com/BalkanSis
• Instagram: instagram.com/balkansispodcast

Follow Ivana

• Instagram: instagram.com/ivanastrbacalfonso
• Facebook: facebook.com/ivanastrbacalfonso
• TikTok: tiktok.com/@ivanastrbacalfonso

The Diaspora Cup 2026: Anthems, Passion & Everything In Between

this episode is a bit different. instead of the usual chaos of my family, i pulled together some incredible voices from across the diaspora to talk about what this world cup actually means to us.

Dr Selma — clinical psychologist, neuroscientist and trauma specialist based in Melbourne, joins to unpack the psychology of why we feel this sport so deeply, and why watching from a lounge room thousands of kilometres from home hits different.📍 Instagram: @dr.selma_music

Daniela Rogulj — Croatian football correspondent, luxury storyteller and copywriter, based in Split, Croatia, gives us the on the ground perspective on that viral anthem moment from the tournament.📍 Instagram: @danielarogulj

Marina Jurica — the Croatian fan who went viral this tournament for passionately singing Lijepa naša domovino with everything she had, while a section of England fans booed over her. Her moment became one of the most talked about clips of the World Cup, and we reflect on why.

Tamara Peklić — cross-cultural coach, talks us through why Dubioza Kolektiv has become the unofficial soundtrack of this tournament, and what it says about how our generation connects to culture differently to our parents.📍 Instagram: @tamarapeklic

Almasa — travel agent based on the Gold Coast, runs Europe Holidays, gives us the local flavour, who everyone here is actually supporting and why, plus a few strong opinions on referees along the way.📍 Facebook: Almasa Lojic Tartic

Aida Demirović-Krebs — spoken word artist, PR and cultural manager, proud RefYUgee, based in Germany, joins with words in Bosnian, speaking to why Halid Bešlić still means what it means to us, and sitting honestly with Bosnia's 2-0 loss to USA.📍 Instagram: @aida_mohn_cheri

we also touch on the Zlatan Ibrahimović moment everyone's been sending around, and close out talking about what's coming next, Croatia vs Portugal and Australia vs Egypt, two games none of us are emotionally prepared for.

grab a coffee for this one. love, ivana

LISTEN & FOLLOW

🎙️ Listen to Balkan Sis: Spotify | Apple Podcasts📱 Follow the podcast: @balkansispodcast📱 Follow Ivana: @ivanastrbacalfonso

80th Birthday Special: Strina Slavica Strbac (HR)

This episode is recorded entirely in Croatian (HR), because that is how Strina Slavica talks, thinks, and has lived her whole life. If you don't speak Croatian, stay with us anyway, you will still feel everything in her voice.

This one is different from anything we have done before.

This is a dedication to Strina Slavica's children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A testimony. A life well lived. A legacy.

Born in 1946 in a small village in Bosnia, one of twelve children, Strina Slavica has lived a life most of us could not imagine. She married at nineteen. She raised five children. She delivered babies were born at home, healed coughs with onion tea, survived war and displacement, rebuilt her life in Germany, then again in Australia, and never once stopped dancing.

She is my dad's auntie, married to my grandfather's brother Mirko. In our language, a strina. But what she has been to our family goes so far beyond a word. She was there when my baba was dying. She was there at my wedding. She was there when I lost a baby, and she told me something I will never forget.

She is a queen. A matriarch. Truly one of a kind.

In this episode, we sit down together, kitchen table style, and talk about her childhood, meeting Striko Mirko, surviving war, raising a family across three countries, the recipes and remedies passed down through generations, and the wisdom she wants to leave behind.

What started as a small legacy piece for my own children has turned into something so much bigger, reaching listeners across Australia, Europe, the US and Canada. So today, this is for all of you too.

Wherever you are listening from, near or far, help me wish Strina Slavica a very happy 80th birthday.

And if this episode moves you even slightly, call your own grandparents, your aunties, your elders. Ask them questions. Record their stories. Write it all down. Heritage, roots and tradition go so much beyond a flag.

Special thanks to my cousin Antonio for organising the recording, and to Strina Slavica's family for trusting me with her story.

🎙️ Episode recorded in Croatian (HR)🎂 Happy 80th Birthday Strina Slavica🤍 A Balkan Sis legacy episode

@ivanastrbacalfonso | @balkansispodcast

In this episode, Ivana sits down with migration lawyer, author, and former refugee Adam Khaze for a wide ranging conversation about his own story, his family, and the realities of Australia's immigration system.

In this episode:

• Adam's family's escape from Iran as Bahá'ís facing religious persecution, the journey through Pakistan, and resettling in Perth as refugees
• Growing up between cultures, losing his mother to cancer in his early twenties, and how that shaped his path into migration law
• Meeting and marrying his wife, Dr Nina Markovic, who came to Australia from Belgrade, Serbia, as a teenager, and building a household across two cultures and two faiths
• Raising multicultural kids and balancing safety, independence, and identity as parents
• Breaking down the real legal definitions of emigrant, immigrant, migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker
• How Australia's permanent migration program actually works, including skilled, partner, student, and humanitarian pathways, and the legal hurdles applicants face
• Common myths around migration, housing costs, crime statistics, and government support, examined through Adam's professional experience
• A candid discussion of the current political climate around immigration in Australia, including differing views within migrant communities themselves
• Reflections on antisemitism, Islamophobia, and the importance of looking at issues individually rather than through a single lens
• Adam's advice for migrant and refugee families, and his closing message on empathy, self-reflection, and putting children first

A note on this episode: This conversation covers contested political topics, including immigration policy, Australian politics, and the war in Gaza. These are presented as Adam's professional views and lived experience; we encourage listeners to keep exploring these topics from multiple sources.

Website: solvemigration.com

Instagram: @adamkhaze (personal) · @solvemigration (firm)

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/adam-khaze

Book: Australian Migration Files (2025)

Upcoming book: on migrant scapegoating, expected February 2027

Research paper: "Fleeing Communism: Yugoslav and Vietnamese Post-war Migration to Australia and Changes to Immigration Policy," co-authored with Dr Nina Markovic — https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nina-Markovic-4/publication/338474391_'Fleeing_Communism'_Yugoslav_and_Vietnamese_Post-war_Migration_to_Australia_and_Changes_to_Immigration_Policy/links/60b2438b45851557baa78f83/Fleeing-Communism-Yugoslav-and-Vietnamese-Post-war-Migration-to-Australia-and-Changes-to-Immigration-Policy.pdf

Podcast: Available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Everything else: linktr.ee/ivanaalfonsoInstagram: @balkansispodcast · @ivanastrbacalfonso

Contact: [email protected]

Got a question for a future episode? DM Ivana or email [email protected]

Guest: Adam Khaze

Host: Ivana Strbac Alfonso Balkan Sis

Today's episode is a full one. life has been full.

we open with a birthday. sretan rođendan mama. 67 years old, a pensioner at last, and the most selfless woman i know. this episode is dedicated to you.

but it's been a mixed bag since we last spoke, and i wanted to come on and share all of it with you. the joy, the grief, and everything in between.

we talk about little Tessa, who lost her battle with cancer at only six years old. we talk about a family friend who passed, and what it means to be trusted with someone's final moments. we talk about how you carry two things at once. pain and love. and why you have to keep dancing anyway.

i recapped Bosanski Vitez, the Bosnian film doing the rounds in Australia right now. go watch it. type it in wherever you are. it's important.

shout out to my cousin Vlad. Macedonian Aussie comedian, absolute legend. go find his podcast This That and give it a listen.

then i tell you about recording with my Strina Slavica. she's turning 80 in July and she is one of the most extraordinary women i have ever sat across from. part of the recording was lost and i am devastated about it, but we will do it again. ask your elders questions. record them. write it down. you will not regret it.

and then the wedding. my cousin Daniel married his Laticia. East Timorese and Croatian cultures in the same room, and it was nothing short of magic. the tea ceremony, the kolo, the dragon dancers, the rakia, my son Vito holding his third cousin's hand on the dance floor. three generations. pure joy. don't wait. go to the wedding.

huge thank you to Martina, my last guest. a Macedonian woman who works for NASA. i am so proud she came on and shared her story with us.

and a massive thank you to our first ever sponsor. Mark, the Burek Guy, based in Liverpool Sydney. an absolutely incredible family-run business and an even better human. if you want to collaborate or sponsor Balkan Sis, reach out. this is completely bootstrapped and your support keeps it alive.

COMING UP:

next weekend. Burek on Wheels and Baba's Milk are hosting a pita workshop on the Gold Coast at Enzo's Cucina, Surfers Paradise, right on the Esplanade. there will be music, food, goodie bags and good people. tickets are limited so reach out to Lepa directly. i will be there shooting content and i would love to see you.

also coming up. Seljačka Večer at the Croatian Club in Rocklea, Brisbane. 13th of June, starting from 3pm. Stona Sat will be there. there is talk of a bus running from the Gold Coast. get in, get your dose of good music and rakia, and support your local club.

huge shout out to Prva Liga, the band who played at Daniel and Leticia's wedding on Saturday and Sunday. Steven, Marco and the boys. if you need a band for your next event, reach out to them. talented, warm-hearted men keeping our culture alive in the most beautiful way.

we close with a reading from the first letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, 12:31 to 13:8a. and then a song for Mum.

love does not come to an end. živjeli.

cheers to being different, cheers to not being mainstream, živjeli.

find us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. follow @balkansispodcast and @ivanastrbacalfonso.

BALKAN SIS PODCAST@balkansispodcast | @ivanastrbacalfonso

Martina Dimoska:The Girl Who Was Never Asked What She Wanted to Be

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

This week Ivana sits down with Martina Dimoska, a Macedonian from Kicevo in North Macedonia who became the first female Balkan analog astronaut in the world. She has commanded missions simulating life on the Moon and Mars, run operations inside subsurface caves with no GPS or natural light, founded the International Space Alliance, and today works at NASA's Johnson Space Center ensuring astronaut health and safety for the xEVA spacesuit, the Lunar Terrain Vehicle, and the Pressurized Rover.

This conversation goes all the way back. To a city where nobody asked little girls what they wanted to be. To a family caring for a daughter with a disability while the community looked away. To a woman who built everything from nothing, with no funding and no one who had done it before her.

This episode is dedicated to Jovana.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Growing up in Kicevo and what dreams looked like for girls in the Balkans
• Her sister Jovana and how caring for her built resilience and problem-solving from a young age
• Her mum putting planets on her bedroom wall and a baba who made her lie in the dark and think
• Losing Jovana during college while navigating a world where peers saw her as competition
• The US State Department scholarship to Kent State and finally belonging somewhere
• What an analog astronaut actually is, explained for the Balkan barbeque table
• The APICES cave mission in Spain: no GPS, no sunlight, only emergency bars to eat
• Commanding TERRA NOVA in parallel with the Axiom-4 mission on the International Space Station
• The burnout nobody talks about when you re-enter real life after a mission
• Founding the International Space Alliance bootstrapped and self-funded from nothing
• Inat. The Balkan word for doing it anyway, despite everything.

SPONSORED BY THE BUREK GUY

Thank you to Mark Delevski and the family behind The Burek Guy. Award-winning Balkan bakery in Sydney. Fresh burek plus a frozen range for busy families.

instagram.com/the_burek_guyfacebook.com/156543917205Suite 3/1 Redman Rd, Dee Why NSW 2099 | (02) 8054 9174 | Open daily until 3pm

CONNECT WITH MARTINA

instagram.com/astrosmartalinkedin.com/in/martinadimoskafacebook.com/AstrosMartainternationalspacealliance.orgen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martina_Dimoska

FOLLOW BALKAN SIS

instagram.com/balkansispodcastinstagram.com/ivanastrbacalfonsoSpotify and Apple Podcasts

Share this with a Balkan woman who needs to hear it. Rate and review wherever you listen.

This one came straight from the heart with zero script and zero filter. After an article Ivana wrote for Croatia Weekly went unexpectedly viral (close to 400 comments and counting), she jumped straight into the mic to talk about what happens when you put yourself out there the good, the bad, and the absurd.

In this episode Ivana covers the Croatia Weekly article and the title that set the internet on fire, why being called "lucky" as a refugee stings in a way most people don't understand, the real cost of building something unconventional where nobody's gone before, why you need to stop doing things for free when you have a mortgage, kids, and bills, and her upcoming masterclass (aiming for July) on dismantling the fear of judgment.

If no one has told you today you are seen, you are enough, and you belong here.

LINKS AND RESOURCES

Support the podcast and keep it free: https://linktr.ee/balkansispodcast

Balkan Sis on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/balkansispodcastBalkan Sis on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/balkansispodcast

Follow Ivana: https://www.instagram.com/ivanastrbacalfonsoFollow the pod: https://www.instagram.com/balkansispodcast

Zaina Kay — ZK Finance (Melbourne): https://www.instagram.com/zk_finance/

Studio Petrija — multicultural flashcards, apparel and heritage products (Sydney): https://www.studiopetrija.com | https://www.instagram.com/studio_petrija/

Burek on Wheels — Balkan food truck and catering (Sydney): https://burekonwheels.com.au | https://www.instagram.com/burek_on_wheels/

Baba's Milk — Australia's first Balkan-inspired chocolate milk in a can: https://www.babasmilk.com | https://www.instagram.com/babasmilk/

Read the article here - https://www.facebook.com/croatia.week

Thank you for listening!

Melissa Pizovic grew up in the south of France as the only person in the room who did not speak the language. Her father, Bosnian-Croatian, never taught her. At family gatherings surrounded by aunts, uncles and cousins all speaking Croatian and Bosnian, she needed a translator. In her own family.

She found her way back through the skin.

After seven years studying architecture and four years in Paris, Melissa picked up a needle during the first COVID lockdown and never looked back. What she found was sicanje, a 4,000-year-old Bosnian and Croatian tradition of women hand-pricking symbols of faith, identity and protection onto each other's bodies. Marks that said: I am from here. You cannot take that from me.

This episode is also personal for Ivana. Her own great-grandmother Ana, known as Graovka, had crosses tattooed on both forearms. She grew up seeing those marks and never knowing what they meant. This conversation is, in part, for her.

As Melissa says: the only way you know where you are going is when you know where you have been.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Her family roots in Gacko and Bileca in East Herzegovina
• Growing up between two worlds without the language
• Leaving architecture behind and what her parents really said
• What sicanje is and why it nearly disappeared forever
• The same symbols on Easter eggs, tablecloths and medieval tombstones
• What happens in the room during a six-hour session
• What diaspora women are really asking for
• The baba moment
• Lelek, Eurovision 2026 and what visibility does to something sacred
• Why she stopped waiting for permission
• Graovka and the crosses on her forearms

FIND MELISSAinstagram.com/melpzvcinstagram.com/[email protected] history video: youtu.be/yCfZ25pnTgEMelissa does not take bookings via DM. Email only.

AS FEATURED INCroatia Week: croatiaweek.com/the-revival-of-traditional-croatian-tattoos-and-the-artist-leading-itSuper1.hr | Gloria.hr

BALKAN SISinstagram.com/balkansispodcastinstagram.com/ivanastrbacalfonsoSpotify and Apple Podcasts: search Balkan Sis

If this episode moved you, share it with a Balkan woman who needs to hear it. That is how traditions survive. Hand to hand. Woman to woman.

#sicanje #balkansispodcast #balkandiaspora #croatianheritage #bosniancroatian #handpoketattoo #diaspora #croatiantattoo #bocanje #traditionaltattoo #balkanwomen

Happy Mother's Day to every single woman who has ever stood at a kitchen bench, packed a lunchbox, cooked for her family and made it all look effortless. This one is for you.

This Mother's Day I am sitting down with one of the most recognised food creators in Australia — George Georgievski, known across the world as the School Lunchbox Dad. George is Macedonian-Australian, a father of two daughters, a husband, a bestselling author of five cookbooks, a Jamie Oliver ambassador and a man with over 650,000 followers who built an empire from a single chaotic morning in the kitchen.

We talk about growing up Macedonian in Australia, the gender roles baked into our culture, what it means to be a modern Balkan man who shows up differently, why Balkan food deserves so much more global recognition than it gets, creativity, cookbooks, content, fussy eaters, lunchbox hacks and so much more.

This episode is for every mum who has done it all. For every dad who wants to show up more. And for every one of us who grew up between two worlds and felt it most at the dinner table.

Sretan Majčin Dan. Puno ljubavi. 🤍

In this episode we cover:

• Growing up Macedonian in Australia and the gender roles we inherited
• Challenging the stereotype that the kitchen belongs to mum
• How a single morning of chaos turned into a global movement
• Creativity, content and what it takes to write five cookbooks
• Why Melbourne is the food capital of Australia and what migrants built there
• Why Balkan food has never gone global and what it would take
• Leftovers, nothing wasted and the creativity of Balkan cooking
• Fussy eaters, Queensland heat and lunchbox tips that actually work
• Building a brand, making an income and staying present as a husband and father
• What George wants his daughters to say about him one day

Connect with George Georgievski:Instagram: @schoollunchboxTikTok: @schoollunchboxdadFacebook: School Lunch BoxWebsite: georgegeorgievski.com.auBooks: Pan Macmillan Australia

Connect with Balkan Sis:Instagram — Podcast: @balkansispodcastInstagram — Ivana: @ivanastrbacalfonsoSpotify: Search Balkan Sis on SpotifyApple Podcasts: Search Balkan Sis on Apple Podcasts

If this episode resonated with you please leave a review, share it with someone who needs to hear it, and come and say hello on Instagram. This community means everything. Puno ljubavi. 🤍

Cheers to being different. Cheers to not being mainstream.

Sisters, this episode is one I have been sitting with since we recorded it and I genuinely cannot wait for you to hear it.

My guest today is Tamara Peklic, a cross-cultural coach based in America who spent 15 years figuring out what happens when you take your culture somewhere that does not understand you, and then built a whole career helping others do the same.

We talked for almost 4 hours. 2.5 on air. Across a 9 hour time difference. That is how you know.

In this episode we cover:

Growing up and carrying a whole city inside you when you leave. Landing in America with a masters degree and discovering none of it counts. Being told you are too direct, too loud, too much and what that does to you. How to assimilate without losing yourself. What living in the in-between actually feels like. Love across cultures and what is hard and what is surprisingly easy. Raising children between multiple worlds. Mothering without your village. Why diaspora people find each other no matter where they land. Directness versus rudeness and why passive-aggressive is more socially accepted. How Tamara built her coaching practice from 15 years of lived experience. And yes we played a culture game and Rafa got his shout out.

If you have ever felt too much in the wrong place, this one is for you.

Find Tamara:Instagram: @tamarapeklicYouTube: @tamarapeklicTikTok: @tamarapeklicLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tamarapeklicUS Crash Course: tamarapeklic.com/uscrashcoursePrivate Coaching: whop.com/@tamarapeklic

Find Balkan Sis:Instagram: @ivanastrbacalfonso and @balkansispodcastYouTube: Ivana Strbac AlfonsoTikTok: @ivanastrbacalfonsoFacebook: Ivana Strbac AlfonsoSpotify: Balkan SisApple Podcasts: Balkan Sis

If this episode resonated with you please share it with someone who gets it. Leave a review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It really does help more sisters find this space.

Zivjeli. Bok. Love, Ivana x