Alabang Ladies International Group

Fawn is proud to be a native San Franciscan and had always lived within about an hour of home. She and her family love the cool and mild weather and the beautiful northern California landscape. She never anticipated living anywhere wherein a jacket wasn't required to go to the beach.

In spite of this plan, Fawn and her husband Mike packed up their two boys and moved to the Philippines for his job in December 2009. Fawn feels strongly that the support she received through ALIG has made a huge difference in successfully transitioning her family to life in the Phils. She is thankful for the sense of community that ALIG has provided her, and has decided that (after a year of living here) she was ready to start contributing back to ALIG herself. Last year she served on the Board as the Membership Coordinator and is taking on the role of ALIG President this year.

While she still misses the cool and misty fog from home (especially in the very hot summer months) she is finding that the new experiences and friends she has made through ALIG mean she has only partially left her heart in San Francisco.

Joanna came to Alabang in February 2011 from Greenville, SC. With 3 children under 4 years old, she has quickly come to appreciate the added help that the Philippines offers!

She worked full time in the cellular industry before packing up her two kids, two dogs and cat to join her husband. Her third child was born in the car on the way to the hospital in Makati, and after that, she feels that she can take on just about anything.

Joanna loves to travel and has found Manila to be an excellent base. ALIG has played such an important role in her first year, she is excited to help make other women's transitions to the Philippines an easy one too.

“It’s only going to be for 6 months” That is what Karin’s husband told her before they decided to move away from family and friends in Stockholm, Sweden to the big, bustling city of Manila in the far away country (which neither of them had ever visited) of the Philippines. The first few months were pretty rough Karin thought but after getting settled in, with lots of help from the ALIG community, it is now difficult to remember why she was hesitant moving in the first place. 3 years later they are still here!

Before she left Sweden she was working as a microbiologist, sequencing DNA from viruses, but now she enjoys having time with her two young boys and planning the next trip to some wonderful island in the Philippines instead. They have lots of visitors trying to avoid the cold winters in Sweden so she sometimes feels like a one-woman travel agency. She also enjoys finding new restaurants, going to clubs listening to live music and dancing! And thanks to their yaya, this does not need to be planned 3 months in advance, yippie!

She is also active in the Scandinavian Society where she manages their website.

This is Ramona's first overseas stay. She is here from Germany with her husband and two sons (Eric, 9 and Adrian, 10 years old) since July 2010.

After studying economics she recognized that she would like to be both a full time mom and business woman. So she opened her own business to have as much as possible time with her kids.

In December 2009 her husband told her about the opportunity to go to the Philippines for some years. Despite a owning a well run business, she found this was a much greater experience for the whole family. So the both of them decided to come here and have never regretted it.

But after six months of doing "nothing" Ramona was looking for a new challenge.

In ALIG she found a nice community and a lot of new friends. Supporting the ALIG board is her opportunity to help welcome other newcomers and maybe give these always friendly people in the Philippines something back.

Doris is originally from Germany, but loves the Philippines so much that she feels like she is in the right country for the first time.

She has fully embraced the Philippines. She enjoys the cuisine, the people, diving with her family and the adventure of living in a new country.

Helen came to Manila in January 2011 with her Dutch husband and her two boys aged 9 and 7.

She comes from the West of Ireland where she left freezing cold and damp weather and is now enjoying the beautiful warm temperatures here. She had been made redundant prior to coming here so relocating had come at the perfect time.

Before coming here, Helen had returned to University where she completed her first year in a Diploma in General Studies, studying Local History and Spanish.
She plans to return to University to finish her Diploma moving on to gain a degree in Arts.

She loves to run and go to the gym. She would like to learn to play golf which she plans to do this year. She and her husband love to socialize and they are looking forward to their second year in the Philippines.

Helen is loving life here and is most grateful to ALIG for the support and wonderful friendships she has made since her arrival, hence her involvement this year.

Michelle was a busy property manager in Brisbane, Australia before arriving in the Philippines with her husband Daniel on their first expat assignment.

They have been here 12 months, and it looks like another 12 are to come. Enjoying life here in the Philippines, Michelle loves wining and dining, heading into Makati and Fort Bonifacio.

She also loves shopping at the many malls, so if you have any question on where to go don’t hesitate to ask!

Michelle and Helen met though ALIG one year ago and are looking forward to working as a team!

Carolina moved to Alabang with her family in January 2011. Prior to experiencing the expat life as a trailing spouse, she was a freelance IT Consultant in Switzerland. She and her husband are the happy parents of two boys aged 11 and 8; they are also the owners of a dog and two cats. She loves taking care of her family, reading, learning, discovering new things and meeting people.

When she is not hooked up on her computers or smart phone feeding the not-so-secret-geek in her, you can find her walking her dog, playing tennis and enjoying what the Philippines have to offer. Besides her tasks with ALIG as the Website and Newsletter Coordinator, she volunteers for the Brent PTA and tries to learn Filipino… she has a long way to go for the last one!

As a child, Marika always told her mom in Belgium: “It's too cold here, when I'm a grown up, I want to move to a warm country.” But she would never have expected to live in the Philippines, where the weather is often way too hot for her !

She always dreamt of having an expatriate experience but the Philippines were not really on her wish list. Nevertheless, for a first expatriate experience, she believes this one is quite an easy one since most people speak English well and household help is easily available. In November 2010 she gave up her job in Human Resources to follow her husband. Both her 5-year old son and her 2-year old daughter are enjoying the Filipino beach life very much.

Marika likes to go out and to look for new and undiscovered spots or activities. So her role in ALIG as Day Social Coordinator should be a good match!

Fanny is originally from Indonesia. She started to move abroad when she was 27 years old; her first expat experience was when she was working with an environment brokerage company in Singapore. After more then 2 years living there, she decided to take another adventure. She got a scholarship to continue her studies in environment, and packed her bag to move to Budapest, Hungary.

 After graduating (Master’s Degree in Environment), she started yet another adventure and moved to the Philippines. She has been living in the Philippines for 1.5 years with her fiancé Kelvin. She is enjoying her life in the Philippines with her fiancé, playing golf, tennis and traveling. Fanny will be very busy this year, planning her dream weeding, but she will also put her time in the ALIG board as a Night Social Coordinators to plan fun nights in Manila with ALIG members, finding nice places to hangout.

Fanny is very happy to have found ALIG; her days are now full with activities and meeting people. She is looking forward to working  to organize 2 fun nights every month.

So, this is what you need to know about Traci West. Traci is an only child, originally from Bowling Green, Kentucky, the home of the Corvette. She graduated from Western Kentucky University with a degree in Psychology & Sociology. Traci did an internship at Walt Disney World and earned her Ducktorate degree. (It is higher than the Mousteer's degree.) She and her husband had been living in Murfreesboro, Tennessee for the past ten years. She had been the Store/Training/DM assistant Manager for Lane Bryant for over four years at the Murfreesboro, TN location.

This is her first expat experience. She has enjoyed the changes in latitude & changes in attitude and was already laughing, so she didn't go insane. Did we mention she is a big Parrot head? Traci never expected to be living life like a song (Banana Republic, Take Another Road, Slow Boat to China & Breathe In, Breathe Out & Move On.)

Traci and her husband Bob came over to the Philippines July 2010. They are planning on staying for two years. They brought there two Miniature Schnauzers: Oliver & Lucy. She has enjoyed the freedom of being able to travel and experience the new opportunities the Philippines have to offer. They want to see as much as possible while they are over here, so please share your travel stories with her!

Traci loves spa'ing. On her arrival she was given a book naming the top 25 spas in Manila. She has since taken up the challenge to visit all of them. We'll see if she makes it. Bob is hoping that she doesn't. She is taking this time to try new hobbies she wouldn't have had time for back in the rat race. Traci is learning about digital photography, gardening, cooking, scrapbooking and painting to name a few.

This is her second time on the board for ALIG. She has found in her time visiting the charities, that it has been the best opportunity to truly experience the Philippines’ culture, outside of the bubble of the village. Traci is looking forward to working with the Charity Committee and the women of ALIG to make a difference here in the Philippines.

Julia is from São Paulo. She was living in Brisbane with her husband Whye, and her dog, Pepe, when they were invited to come over to the Philippines. They have been here for a year and they are really enjoying this experience.

Back in Brazil Julia was once involved in charity by tutoring and playing with HIV children in an Orphanage called Casa Filadélfia in São Paulo. As soon as she arrived in Manila, she knew that she would be at home for long hours and thought it would be great to use her time wisely: maybe learning something new or helping someone... This year she got the opportunity to get involved with the ALIG Charities and she is willing to help!

Precilla Böhm was born in Camarines Sur, which lays in the beautiful region of Bicol. She has three older siblings. She came to Manila with her family at a young age and completed her studies here.

 2011 was an exciting year for Precilla as she got married to Matthias and moved to Ayala Alabang. A big part in Precilla’s life is her dog Cooper. She is also active in Yoga and Badminton and when time allows she likes to dive and to play golf.

 In ALIG Precilla found an organization and a group of individuals with whom she can support what she is very dedicated to: making a difference in people’s life.

In July 2010 Amanda packed up her two teenage children and dog Dwayne, and took the easy decision to leave the freezing cold temperatures of Newport, South Wales and follow her husband to the Philippines. The opportunity to live in a country where the temperature never drops below 24 degrees and the prospect of a year-round tan was simply too good to pass up on.

Although her children resisted at first they now love their new life so much they don't ever want to go home! They attend Brent International School and have made some fabulous friends who helped a great deal with their transition, friends who Amanda believes will remain in her children's lives wherever they end up.

Now 18 months into her life in the Philippines and the addition of a new puppy, Amanda has adjusted to having 'staff', hearing the words 'no stock ma'am' and stocking up on Chardonnay, as joining ALIG has meant there is always someone to help you drink a bottle or two while sharing amusing stories of this beautiful and sometimes crazy country.

Amanda is excited to work with the other ALIG ladies and hopes to remain in the Philippines until her children graduate.

Melissa is from Texas and with this spirit she grabbed the bull by the horns and jumped in to help welcome newcomers to ALIG. Although this is her first expatriate assignment, this mother of three is ready for the challenge. She is always busy with one or more projects, as a history moderator at the Museum Volunteers, Brent International school PTA, and ALIG president emeritus.

Melissa left a medical practice in the U.S. to embark on her family’s new adventure. She loves to cook, travel, learn about different cultures and is brushing up on a second language.

Melissa is very honored to work with such an amazing group of women and is hoping for your support and involvement with the Newcomers group and Mabuhay Club.

2012 marks twenty years of living overseas for Heidy Taylor. She has called Zurich, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Manila, Philippines (twice) home during those 20 years. Heidy and her husband David have two beautiful girls: Brittany, age 13 and Jessica, age 10.

Besides taking care of her family, Heidy stays busy with Girl Scouts. Having been active with the organization for over 8 years, she currently has two troops, organizes registration as well as training. Heidy’s girls have been in scouts since they were in kindergarten.

Heidy calls Asia home and has no idea if she’ll ever go back to the States for longer than a visit.  “ Living a life abroad has been wonderful. I wouldn’t change one moment of my life overseas.”

Liz Cooper, the newly elected Coordinator for Public Relations & Advertising may have been in The Philippines for less than two weeks and had nowhere to live but she had already experienced the friendship from all the ladies at ALIG.

“I wanted to do something interesting with myself while here and when the opportunity arose to join the ladies at ALIG, I felt it was a wonderful way to become a part of the local community and assist them in the fabulous projects they put so much energy into – both for the expat community and the local community.”

Liz has had a major upheaval from her life in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia to travel with her husband, Michael Steer, to take on a new challenge with Fluor. Although not sure of the length of their stay, they are hoping to fit in as much travel and exploration of the Philippines into their time here as possible.

Liz’s professional background is in corporate and consulting public relations, journalism, magazine and web-site editing, event management and publishing. This has covered a wide range of clients from town planning and engineering to sport, interior design and bridal fashion.

While their family remains in Australia, they will all be visiting at some stage and have the opportunity to experience life in Alabang.

Sonya arrived in Alabang in September 2011. She loves her 35-year-old mexican-style house with a garden that serves as soccer field for her 4-year-old son who attends kindergarten at the German School in Paranaque. Sonya’s husband works for the German Embassy and it is their first posting abroad. Both of them studied and worked in different countries like Canada, France and Israel. They travelled many parts of the world as backpackers but it is only their second time here in South East Asia, so they are looking forward to explore this part of the world.

Sonya has studied law and worked for several NGOs, managing their volunteers’ activities and raising funds. She also organized Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects, connecting companies and charities, mainly in the field of literacy and education.

Getting in touch with people from different cultures and meeting people who can tell new stories is the reason why she joined ALIG. As a member of the Education Committee, she would like to connect people who share the same activity and to evoke their interest in new topics. "It's more fun in Alabang!" is her way of saying that she decided not to go crazy about the "maybe" and "bahala na" issues she had to deal with while settling in. She recently joined a choir in Makati, plays piano and loves to swim.

Oana has been living in the Philippines with her husband since April 2011, and she is really enjoying this adventure. It took her a few months to settle living in such a different place, but she has definitely adjusted now.

She is originally from Romania, but has lived for many years in California. Prior to moving to Manila she lived in England for 3 years, where she started teaching French in a middle school. Needless to say, she loves travelling and learning about new cultures!

Oana also enjoys pursuing various interests, such as painting, playing tennis, and exploring new places. Being part of ALIG has given her the opportunity to meet great people, get involved in the community and do some volunteer work. She is looking forward to be a part of the Education Committee, and to help coordinate a variety of fun and interesting courses, especially foreign languages.