Expats Like Us
A podcast series exploring life as a U.S. Expat in Mexico. Topics include preparing to move to a new country, navigating your new home and finding your passion as a retiree.
Expats Like Us
Tacos, Toys and a New Life in Tulum, Mexico
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to leave a bustling corporate career and find peace in a new land? Meet Erika Weier, an inspiring American expat who traded the hectic life of Chicago's retail management for the tranquil beauty of Tulum, Mexico. In our latest episode, Erika shares her journey of embracing a slower, more meaningful lifestyle, deeply rooted in her Mexican American heritage. She talks about the unexpected joys and challenges of her new life, including her initial plans to open a gym and her eventual evolution into a successful fitness instructor and community organizer.
Erika’s passion for fitness isn’t just about exercise; it's about fostering community and encouraging others to live healthier lives. As we discuss her transition from teaching aqua fitness classes to organizing transformative community events, Erika offers insights into the tools that have empowered her journey. From fitness apps to wearable technology, she shares practical advice for anyone looking to make positive lifestyle changes—no matter where they reside. Listen in as she emphasizes the importance of movement and the small steps that can lead to big changes.
The power of community shines through as Erika details her involvement in establishing a food bank and organizing Tacos and Toys, initiatives that have touched many lives. With gratitude to Erika and our co-host Sherry Bosse, we reflect on the connections and shared stories that enrich the expat experience. This episode is a testament to the idea that home is not just a place; it's a collection of memories and relationships that span the globe. Join us as we explore these global connections and the heartwarming stories that remind us of the power of community building.
We are incredibly thankful for engagement and stories from our listeners, who have found their own sense of 'home' across the globe. Stay tuned as we continue to share the wisdom and wanderlust of those who've charted their unique international courses. We'd love to hear your comments and questions. Email them to expatslikeus@gmail.com
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Seeing the community building and the relationships between myself and new people and the other people who meet people through Tacos and Toys and the food bank etc. It's the branches that reach out has been the best thing.
Speaker 2:Welcome to Expats Like Us exploring the world of US expat life in Mexico. In each episode we'll meet new people and hear their personal stories. We'll also learn more about the expat life and get a few tips on everything from making your move to settling in and living your dream. Let's dive in. Welcome to Expats Like Us. I'm Bob Busse and today I'm sharing hosting duties with my wife, sherry.
Speaker 2:One of the recurring themes on Expats Like Us is finding your purpose in your new home. Once you get past all the basic tasks involved in an international move things like furnishing your home, learning how to pay your bills, getting residency, getting a driver's license and so on it's time to settle into a routine. Many of us discover that all those things that we love to do on vacation are still fun, but we just can't be on vacation every day. In short, we need to find some sort of purpose in life. Today we're thrilled to be talking with Erica Weir. Erica is a friend and neighbor who has done exceptionally well in finding her purpose in expat life. Today we're thrilled to be talking with Erica Weir. Erica is a friend and neighbor who has done exceptionally well in finding her purpose in expat life. She's a fitness instructor, a coach. She coordinates an annual holiday event which provides a meal and toys for hundreds of children in the area and has helped create a food bank that helps families in need in the Tulum area. Thank you for being with us today, erica.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having me. So, erica, we're so excited to hear your story, but let's start out and just tell us where you're from originally.
Speaker 1:Yeah, originally I was born in Southern California Glendale and lived there, but most recently my husband and I moved here from Chicago.
Speaker 3:Okay, and so tell us what life was like for you before your move and what led you to Mexico.
Speaker 1:I think I probably had the stereotypical American life of 40 plus hours long commutes, a lot of work in corporate America, kind of the hustle, the rat race, I guess, for lack of a better term. So that was my typical life. I spent a career in retail, retail management, and then just felt like we were ready for a change and, most importantly, todd was ahead of me in that decision process. But I took a little while to convince, be convinced that it was time for me. But eventually I kind of thought he might be on to something and we came to a better agreement. His first goal was like Fiji, let's go to Fiji, we'll retire in Fiji. And it just seemed so obscure and so far-fetched and so unrealistic. But as the years went on and he kept saying let's go to Fiji, I kind of thought, well, it doesn't have to be, fiji Could be somewhere else.
Speaker 2:And, by the way, what language do they speak in Fiji? Do we even know? I?
Speaker 1:don't know that answer. Um, yeah, that's a really good question. Uh, so exactly, I thought I needed something a little more realistic and Mexico seemed like realistic for me. Um, as my parents are Mexican American, it came kind of felt like coming home culturally or understood it. Um grew up around the language and things, so it felt like we could find a place in Mexico that would make sense for us.
Speaker 3:Okay, and so did you come with a plan for how you were going to spend your time and what were your expectations of your life in Mexico and what were your expectations of your life in Mexico?
Speaker 1:The plan was to slow down and find just a slower pace of life where we could spend more time together and in that corporate rat race I was in, I traveled for the majority of our relationship, which was like together, about 10 years before coming here. So we I traveled two to three, even four nights a week. So slowing down and actually being together was part of the purpose and part of my plan. I think at the time, looking back, we were thinking of opening a gym or a fitness studio. That has been part of my life for a long time. But then coming here and seeing that that would require more work than I was willing to put in I guess, realizing that we don't necessarily need to do it that way.
Speaker 1:Um, as far as being at the gym every day of the week and teaching all the classes and opening in case someone doesn't teach, or that kind of stuff, we thought maybe I could do it a different way. Um, so we I've stayed kind of with the plan, but it evolved a little bit Okay.
Speaker 2:Okay, we're back with Erica Weir. Erica, I think the first time we met was around four or five years ago, when you were leading an exercise class in the pool in our community. How has your interest in exercise and nutrition evolved since your move here?
Speaker 1:Yeah, it probably was five years ago. I just celebrated five years this February teaching aqua fit here in Akamal and it's evolved yet stayed the same. I started with the one class three days a week here, answering a Facebook ad that someone was looking for an instructor. And, believe it or not, I was in the States at the time that I read the Facebook ad and I was like I'm not going to answer that, I'm not going to say that I can do that, knowing I could do it, but do I want to do it? You know that kind of thing Anyway. So I finally just said message me or DM me if you'd like to know more, but I'd be happy to teach the class. And that's where we met and I've been teaching that class ever since.
Speaker 1:And then I picked up a class in Tulum. So I do a class in Tulum first Monday, wednesdays and Fridays and then drive here to Akamal and teach just directly after. So that evolved just in kind of doubling the class and handling the clientele 25 minutes south, but overall my fitness and kind of nutrition. Passion has been part of my life and passion has been part of my life. My first certifications of fitness became in 2007, on a desire that I liked it, but I was looking for a second source of income. I'd gone through a divorce and thought like there's more bills than I have income.
Speaker 1:And what can I? How can I make money doing something I like? So I got into fitness and teaching fitness. At that point I knew I already liked it. But if I got into fitness and um teaching fitness, at that point I knew I already liked it. But if I was at the gym, can I be paid to go to the gym and help others, kind of thing?
Speaker 1:Um, and it's evolved from that point where I taught in in structured gyms and um large group fitness classes, big varieties from Zumba and Pios and all kinds of different weight classes, step aerobics back in the day um to just really right now I teach aqua fitness um and do a little bit of personal training as well. Um, depending on the clients and what kind of goals they have, whether I meet them at their house or my house at the gym or just kind of get them started. A lot of my clients here don't have much experience in fitness and want to kind of put their foot in and have more time on their hands to be active and looking for ways to do that safely. So I'll help them with that, okay.
Speaker 2:Very good. So there's obvious benefits to exercise and eating a healthy diet, but that is sometimes easier said than done. What's one piece of advice you would give someone who wants to make a change? Maybe someone who had a sedentary job before they retired and moved here? Or even if they still live back in the States but had a sedentary job and they ate a lot of fast food because of their crazy work schedules, but now they have more free time and they want to make a few changes. What's a piece of advice you would give them.
Speaker 1:I think you said it. I think it's always easier said than done. Right Like it takes effort. My piece of advice is to get moving in some capacity. I would say it's the single healthiest thing any human could do. So be more mobile. My saying goes back to. It reminds me of your shirt science, but physics. A body in motion stays in motion. So start moving, get moving, and it's amazing how that momentum can pick up and continue. If you take it to the nutrition side and someone who's interested in fat loss or weight loss in particular, I would I would say a caloric deficit is probably the single most important thing. So looking at what you're eating and and attacking it on a caloric deficit, but for anybody, blanket statement I'd say get moving.
Speaker 2:Okay, it seems like we're all tethered to our phones maybe a little too much already, but there are. Are there any apps you might recommend or that you use to for people to help track their progress or lifestyle changes?
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, we are. I'm definitely tethered to the phone, um, and I use it for everything I do, including the nutrition and fitness businesses that I work. Favorite apps I, I guess, kind of say three things Nutrition wise, something that again can help you get into that caloric deficit or track and those are lose. It's my fitness pals, um, I mean, there's countless ones at various costs help you log your food and track how much you're consuming. It can be really eye-opening and it's easy to do. And then a second one I'd say, anything fitness-wise.
Speaker 1:There's so much fitness content out there, whether it's YouTube or different apps. Different personal trainers have apps and things. Peloton has something for $10 that you can sign up and just have a plethora of classes at your fingertips, which is great for any at-home fitness type programs or to supplement something you're already doing. But it's a good way to get a huge variety of content at a very, very low cost to help you stay motivated and keep moving. And then my last third thing I'd say is whether it's an app. I use Fitbit, so it's an app, but something to count your steps and count that mobility. I mean, an old pedometer used to be and could do the trick too, but something I know the Apple Watch or the Garmin et cetera have all that kind of thing too. But that way you just see, and you can kind of continue to push that step, count on mobility a little more and more each day or week.
Speaker 2:I personally wear a Fitbit, and what I find it's handy with is if I'm close to my goal for the day, but I'm not there.
Speaker 1:I can see that, and then I can go out and walk a little more and reach that goal. Exactly I think the same thing. Um, it can get my personality, can get me a little obsessive and I think I gotta just stay reeled in, but it's a good guidance. It really helps, um help you set the targets and get there to your point Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Yeah Well, fitness is obviously a passion for you, and you're a good motivator for those of us that are connected, but I know another thing that you're really passionate about is tacos and toys, yeah. So tell us what that is and how did that all come about?
Speaker 1:Oh, wow, that actually came about before the fitness part of my life here. So it started in the first one of tacos and toys was in December of 2018. And I started fitness and in that February of 19. So just a short little bit after. But, um, you know, we were living here for just a few short months and I was trying.
Speaker 1:My big goal was to assimilate and be part of the community, um, and I just felt that they're on my heart, that I wanted to bring the community together to celebrate Christmas, and I thought, well, let's do it. We'll have tacos and toys and a Santa and it'll be great. And that was. That was the how the vision started, um, and my husband said, well, how are you going to do that and where are you going to do that and who's going to pay for it? So he started asking a lot of the why questions or how, and I just had the idea, um. So I found a restaurant um, tacos Kuka con right there off of Kuka con um avenue in Tulum, and it's been a location.
Speaker 1:Now this will be year seven. It's been the same location for all seven years. So Salvador and his team cook all the tacos, all fresh, and everyone eats and enjoys their delicious tacos and we have toys and it's evolved in the sense like the first year we had like a thousand tacos and maybe not even maybe 800 tacos I'd have to look back and like 500 toys and now it's evolved to 35, 3,700 tacos and about 1500 plus toys. We close the streets and we get entertainment and clowns and candy and it just has a have a really big party for Christmas in the community and it's really been a blessing to have to be able to see that grow and the community come together and and look forward to it. I'll see I mean it's in my neighborhood where I walk and get my steps in and I see people and they're like it's coming up, it's coming up.
Speaker 1:Yes, stay tuned you know, so they look forward to it and it's it's a really nice time.
Speaker 3:So that is a big event. I mean 1500 toys, 1500 toys how many? Tacos 3,700. Oh my gosh, yeah. So how do you go about raising money for something of that scale and how many volunteers?
Speaker 1:It's not just just you? I know you're organized, it's definitely not just me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, how many volunteers are part of this Throughout the whole process and the day of I mean I would say 50 to 60 volunteers and the money. Really the event, like we're anticipating the event of the tacos and the toys and the clown and the candy and Santa, and we have face painters, a coloring station, et cetera, et cetera. So it's literally just a big three-hour party and tacos cost about $22,000 US dollars. And one of the biggest expenses on there that we haven't yet talked about is we give a food bag, like a blessing of dry goods, basically that incorporated through the food bank that we also work with, but we then get to go home and have that blessing for Christmas week really. So they do enjoy the meal with all of us but then get to go home as well.
Speaker 1:So we raise money through a couple fundraisers throughout the year through a couple of fundraisers throughout the year. We host three or four fundraisers throughout the year, um, which is fabulous because it brings the community together and gets um people to know and learn about tacos and toys and what we do and other businesses involved, um, and then we just do the hard fundraising, you know, straight up, pleading help us raise money, and then we do a silent auction. So we have great donations for the silent auction, whether that's a stay in someone's house or a nice piece of art. We've had like a two-night stay in El Cuyo, some really nice prices, where people can bid on silent auctions, and that's in December, just before Tacos and Toys, so we'll get that last push of money right before that. So it takes a lot of planning and organizing from various sources, but seems to be working on year seven and here we go and you're working on this pretty much year-round.
Speaker 3:I mean there's a big push towards the end, when the holidays are getting closer, but you are working on this year round, aren't you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I have a little list and contacts and people who can kind of help plug in at their right time, exactly when we need them and how they can plug in. So I'm making those contacts and saving those numbers and going to visit back. On that, bob, we're going to talk back again about that in November.
Speaker 2:That kind of stuff.
Speaker 1:All year round, absolutely, but the big push for Tacos and Toys is certainly like September, august, september and through December. Okay, great.
Speaker 3:And then you mentioned the Tulum Food Bank, so tell us about the need for this and how that came about on top of this event.
Speaker 1:Yeah, tulum Food Bank really was not my idea and probably something we wouldn't have ever started, but COVID happened. So everybody knows COVID and knows that if you were here in Mexico at the time, we completely shut down. I mean I don't know, we weren't nowhere else in the world, but we were here and the tourism a total halt. I joke because we could ride four wide down Beach Road on bikes and no cars, no people, nothing. I mean it was very quiet, quiet, quiet, quiet. So when that happened there were no tourists, which is the whole business of Tulum and the economy and the local paycheck comes from that. So I had somebody reach out to me and say we need to help, we really need to help. These people have no work and they have no food and we need to help. And I thought she says do you, can you and Todd run a food bank? She says do you, can you and Todd run a food bank? And I thought, well, no, we can't, we don't, we've never run a food bank. And I remember I was upstairs in my house at the time and um answering the text and I put my phone down and I thought, well, if we don't do it, who will? And why just because we don't run a food bank doesn't mean we can't um, and we're capable, smart people that can figure this out, is kind of what I thought. So I went to todd again and said we need to start a food bank and the rest is history there.
Speaker 1:But simultaneously, as that happened, um, there was like a radio station advertisement that said we're gathering food, we're collecting food for victims not victims, but COVID and helping families. And I thought, well, let me call them and meet them and maybe they can help me. And that's kind of how we started working with somebody who can help me distribute and really know that the town and the people that needed it. I think every town and community has a need of underserved or underprivileged families that go through tough times and Tulum is no different.
Speaker 1:But that's not necessarily for me to say, and I wasn't really the pulse of knowing who those people are or where to get to the food, nor did I want that. It's really not about me, but I know I have a knack for connecting people and helping two things happen. So that's what I did. We raised a lot of money and we always have controlled the food and the purchasing and all the money. And then, now that we know and trust the distribution people, we know that the food's going into the right place and I've been on enough runs and distributions to know that we're right in there and that's how it worked. So we still actually run the food bank today, certainly not on the scale of the days back in COVID, but we run bi-monthly two distributions a month of about 50 food bags. So we help 50 families every two weeks in Tulum.
Speaker 3:Okay, yeah, and I know we talked on an earlier podcast. There was a similar event or a food distribution here in Akamal and you got that rolling.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, it's weird. Um, what do I call it Big magic when things like that happen. The connections, um from Aquafit that I had, um, a gal called me to help here in Akamal and I was like, absolutely and same kind of thing. She could distribute it, they had the families, but you know who could do the shopping, who could do the buying, who could organize the money? Um, so same same thing. And um, we had that great partnership and still do.
Speaker 3:So how would someone, uh, who's interested in all this, get involved with either tacos and toys or the Tulum food bank?
Speaker 1:Yeah, Um well, I guess reach out to me directly, that's certainly easy. But we also are on social, you know Facebook and Instagram on Tacos and Toys or Tulum Food Support.
Speaker 3:Okay, oh, awesome.
Speaker 2:Okay, we're back with Erica Weir, who's a fitness instructor and coordinator of the Tulum Food Bank and Tacos for Toys. Tell us, Erica, what does the future look like for both of these programs?
Speaker 1:Wow, the crystal ball, huh, well, I see them continuing. We've been steady funding-wise as far as the Tulum food bank, so that feels really good to to maintain that, I mean maintain those 50 bags every two weeks and the distribution there. I'm sure we'll see how that goes. But the tacos and toys I see growing and staying in the same. As far as the event, if anyone has been there really can't go toys not, you know, or late donations, or we're.
Speaker 1:We're able to help, kind of some other things that the church, that, um, we use to distribute through the food bank. That's how we got that going. We've been two years buying pizzas for their christmas party, um, and they don't really do toys, but we bought the food which aligns exactly with what we do. So we're able to help another small Christmas party in Tulum and I don't think there's any overlap, I don't think that even if there were oh well, right, but I don't think it's the same kids I think it's able to kind of feel that Christmas spirit in two different groups. We do the same with Akumal and coming through Gillies. We bring toys through that every year and set toys aside to bring that.
Speaker 1:Ours is always before Gillies. Gillies is on the 24th and we're on the 9th. Well, our date changes, but we're the Thursday before Christmas Eve, so that date changes, but it's always before. So we kind of set that aside so we're able to grow kind of more on satellite things in that capacity. Um. And then in the food bank I already kind of mentioned we just additional funds and continuing to do that through Um. So I see them in their future um asking me in December, in January, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, tired, tired. But like I mentioned earlier, I've always been in retail. So this time of year has always been busy for me and I don't know how I found or chose or fell on my lap, but the same thing, I'm very busy this time of year.
Speaker 3:Well, clearly your work benefits a lot of children and a lot of families in this area, not just at Christmas, but year round. But what do you personally get out of all the hard work you put in?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I didn't know it would come. I didn't know what I would get out of it and nor was I looking for that. But the truth is I say it when we have these fundraisers and I say it about this it's not about the tacos, it's not about the toys, it's about building community and I love seeing that at the event, but I see it throughout the year. So now I've built my community through Aquafit and through the nutrition and tacos and toys. All these are, like you said, intertwined and I really enjoy that and that makes my heart happy. So that's what I get out of it seeing the community building and the relationships between myself and new people and the other people who meet people through tacos and toys and the food bank, et cetera, and the other people who meet people through tacos and toys and the food bank, et cetera. It's the branches that reach out.
Speaker 3:It's been the best thing, so kind of transitioning here. So one of the little things that we started with expats like us is a game that we call Que Padre, que Malo. Okay, so it's just. Basically it started out with like a fun way for us to discuss, you know, our lives in. Mexico. But we're going to ask you for one thing that you think is really cool about life in Mexico.
Speaker 3:That's your Que Padre. And then what's something that's maybe been hard to get used to, or you kind of miss from the States? You know it's not here in Mexico. That would be your que malo. So let's start. What's your que padre? Erica Weir, which is so cool.
Speaker 1:Wow, wow, what is so cool? Everything there's so is so cool, everything there's so much so cool. I love the street food, the street tacos and the margaritas Right, the social Cultural piece, and I just Love the ease cultural piece and I just love the ease. Not everything's easy, but as the K-Malo's coming, but the.
Speaker 1:I guess, like I said, the pace and the ease, the mañana Relax, nothing's in a big hurry, so that's a really good thing for me. Yeah, especially after the rat race, relax, it's more laid back. Yeah, nothing's in a big hurry, so that's a really good thing for me.
Speaker 3:Yeah, especially after the rat race. Right, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:And I don't think patience was ever a strength of mine, so I brought that. This lesson has brought that to me and it's been really nice to settle into that.
Speaker 3:Okay, and so what's the K-Malo?
Speaker 1:Oh man, I guess the days that it just feels like nothing's working um or something else broke Right.
Speaker 2:Um.
Speaker 1:I mean some of that's homeownership in general, I think, but it seems like homeownership in Mexico is is a whole different a whole different animal. So I say K-Malo to that I don't know, a leak, the garage, any electrical air conditioning, and it always seems to break when you have the guest in there or you have visitors or you're really busy with other things. That it just doesn't seem. So those are the K-Malos and my biggest K-Malo, you know it, there's no Target.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 1:I mean, I love a Target.
Speaker 3:A girl's got to shop A girl's got to shop.
Speaker 1:When I travel, the time difference helps me. I'm also an early morning person, but I go visit family in LA so I have two hours, or sometimes three, depending on our time zone. So I'm up very early in LA time and I am at Target waiting for them to open those doors at 8am.
Speaker 3:I know, I think we both take each other pictures of our Target.
Speaker 2:Whenever we've gone back to the States, we've always gone to a Target.
Speaker 1:Exactly, exactly. I mean, I like Target when I lived there, but I really love Target now. There's just nothing like it.
Speaker 2:All right, I think that's all we have for you. Well, thanks so much. Thank you, erica Weir, for taking time from your extremely busy schedule. I should mention she came over here to do this seconds after getting done with Aquafit.
Speaker 3:Wet hair and all.
Speaker 2:But thank you for coming and sharing your story with us today.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I appreciate you guys having me Okay, great opportunity.
Speaker 2:Thanks. In each episode of Expats Like Us, we're going to teach you a new Mexican slang word. This is something you may not find in your phrasebook or your online Spanish class or your Spanish app or wherever you're learning your Spanish. Instead, this is a term used primarily by Mexican Spanish speakers. Today's word is Orale Orale. I think I know what that one means. I hear that a lot.
Speaker 3:Yes, it's basically in agreeance with. Yes, let's go, sounds good.
Speaker 2:Okay, I've always thought of it as cool.
Speaker 3:Cool is another way to use it Okay.
Speaker 2:Very good Orale. Thank you, erica Kowalski from Mi Vida Margarita. We'd love to hear your thoughts on today's topic. Just look up Expats Like Us on Facebook or send us an email at expatslikeus at gmailcom. You can also see the video version of today's discussion and all of our discussions on our YouTube page. Follow, like, subscribe and leave us a review. Thank you to today's guest, erica Weir. Thanks also to my co-host, sherry Bussey, and thanks to our co-producers from Mi Vida Margarita. Most of all, thank you for tuning in to Expats Like Us and thank you for interacting with us on social media. Next time we'll bring you more firsthand information about your international move. Until then, remember, our homes are not defined by geography or one particular location, but by memories, events, people and places that span the globe.
