Tune in to watch the Season 1 finale of The Ovfabpinays podcast where Donna Avellana Kuenzler is joined by 4 Ovfabpinays who shared their insights on living overseas and on being based back to the Philippines once again.
What made them come back after years of living abroad? How long did they plan for their move? Was it hard to get a job? How did their relationship with friends and family change after moving back? What did they like most about being back in the Philippines? How long did it take them to settle back in? What were the hardest things to adjust to? Would they consider living overseas again?
These are just some of the questions that were discussed in the podcast. So watch it now and get more insights!
Watch the podcast here.
Featuring the 4 Ovfabpinays:
Monique Garcia, Sales and Events Executive
Monique is a graduate of Business Administration from the University of the Philippines and has a Masters Degree in Marketing from the University of Birmingham, UK. She pursued her hospitality career in London, working at notable establishments such as the Hyatt Regency, Riverbank Park Plaza and Vinopolis Wine Museum. Monique returned to Manila after a decade to start a family where she continued her sales and events profession. She is a doting mother to 2 children aged 9 and 6.
Teng Alvarez, Finance Executive
Teng has lived in Indonesia, Diego Garcia and Seychelles. She lived in Seychelles for 11 years, with her last post as the local CFO of a multinational telecommunications company.
During her time in Seychelles, Teng was actively involved in engaging the Filipino community by leading the annual celebration of Philippine Independence Day and by co-creating the Proud Pinoy in Seychelles Facebook group which presented a platform for information, announcements and networking for Filipinos in Seychelles. In 2018, their group’s contribution to the Filipino community was given recognition by the Philippine Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.
After being overseas for 17 years, she recently moved back to the Philippines and joined Save The Children Philippines.
Rica Cacho, Freelance Designer
Rica trained as an Architect before moving overseas to work as a facade specialist for a British multinational company. She has lived in London, Singapore and Los Angeles and has had the privilege to travel the world for both work and play. She moved back to Manila three years ago after nearly 15 years abroad, to start a family and to explore her other interests. She currently does freelance architectural and interior design work and also teaches painting and art part-time. She is a hands-on mamma to her adorable 21-month old boy.
Cherry Paraz Ileto, Physician
Cherry earned her degrees in BS Biology and Medicine from the University of the Philippines – Manila. After deciding that she did not want to hold clinical practice, she dabbled in acupuncture, clinic administration and medical writing before moving to Singapore. She worked there for 5 years as a Tissue Coordinator for the Singapore Eye Bank where she facilitated the procurement of corneal tissues used for sight-saving surgery.
She moved back to the Philippines in 2015 and is currently helping out in her husband’s family business. She enjoys baking, knitting & crocheting, and playing with (or, being snubbed by) their cat in her free time.
Watch the podcast here.
