Roxanne Patruznick: here's just one really simple question. Why now?
Salim Sanchez: Why not, you Since feel like if I don't do this now, I may never be able to do it. I'm living this life that I'm living. I don't have any children. I don't have anything holding me back. I don't have any assets. I don't own anything except for my car, I don't have any reason why I shouldn't do this, Then I had a moment where I was like, you know what? Fuck it, man. We're all going to go anyway. The world's going to end either way. I need to go and see the world And by hook or crook, I'm going to make this happen. got to go out and remember who I used to be. And I got to take a chance.
Roxanne Patruznick: Welcome to Travel Create Repeat, where we talk with fellow artists, writers, and performers about travel and creativity. I'm Roxanne, and I'm an artist nomad who's been traveling full time since
Salim Sanchez: you
Roxanne Patruznick: 2017. Today's podcast guest is Salim Sanchez, an actor, a musician, a visual artist, and a photographer. So, Celine. Hey.
Salim Sanchez: Thanks for having me. How you doing?
Roxanne Patruznick: I'm doing really good. It's really great to have you on the on the show. And just tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from originally?
Salim Sanchez: So I'm originally from New York City, Brooklyn. And yeah, I was born in New York and kind of traveled all over the country. I would say I spent my formative years in Kentucky. So I kind of claim that a little bit more. That's where I kind of found myself, I guess. But yeah, I was originally born in New York, just to keep it simple. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: And how long have you lived in Portland, Oregon?
Salim Sanchez: This will be my 21st year. Moved here in 05 from Philadelphia. And yeah, it's, I think this is the longest I've been anywhere. And, you know, like I said, before I was born in New York, but I I grew up with a nomadic artist mother. we left New York when the Bronx was on fire back in the late seventies. And she moved us down to Louisiana where she found some directing work in Shreveport. lived there for about eight years and then moved to DC for about three or four years. And then from there, moved to Kentucky by accident and spent about 10 years there. And then in Texas. And at this point I was still in high school and I ended up staying in Kentucky. once my mother left, so I lived on my own. And then I ended up going to the university that was in the town that I grew up in Kentucky, Murray State. And I majored in theater and visual arts, minored in dance. And then from there, I had moved to Philadelphia to start my acting career, my professional dance career. And I was there for about six years. And then, I five, that's when I moved to Portland. to meet up with some of my old bandmates that I knew in Kentucky, who had already moved to Portland at this point. And I reunited with them in Portland in 05. So I've been here for 21 years and yeah, it's been quite a, quite a thing. all I did was traveling and just kind of adapt And this is the place I kind of stuck to for a little bit, and I will say it's been quite an experience.
Roxanne Patruznick: That's fabulous. And you know, you just reminded me that you also are a dancer. Like I, that's another thing that I forgot to mention. Like you, you're a
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: regular Renaissance man. So, so moving into the art arena, you work across several creative mediums. And I'm wondering if there's one that you're more focused on presently and what drew you to this particular medium.
Salim Sanchez: a very good question. I would say the most consistent medium right now has been music. And I do this with my guys here. And we don't perform out as much as we used to, but it's something that we still consistently do. I still play with these guys every weekend or so whenever we get together and this way. it's also a way for us to stay connected and it's just so easy to play music. it's a good outlet for us. We had a moment where we were playing and touring and we were doing the thing. but I would say it's like anybody who likes to just paint on their, on their, on their, you know, downtime and whatever, or people just. people who do their little, their artistic talent or whatever, just for them. This is how I feel about music. It's just something we do for us. And I would say that's the most consistent thing I do artistically. And then photography goes second. I do pick up lot of photography gigs. They all vary from events. to headshots professionally. I shoot more events. But I would say it's a semi-professional hobby.
Roxanne Patruznick: Hahaha
Salim Sanchez: And I don't do it to get rich or anything. I just do it because I enjoy doing it and it's just nice to get me out of the house. And if you'll pay me a little bit, that's fine. but I don't, you know, I don't lean on that. It's just something I enjoy doing. so I would say photography and, and music are my two main, inspirations right now. The things that I do consistently in my, out of all the things that I do, I do occasionally act. I do, I still have an agent. I still have work that comes my way. I don't. do as much anymore. As much as I love it, it does take a lot out of you. It's a lot more of a commitment, especially if it's something that has roles and if something that's really chunky. But right now it's trying to prioritize a lot of different things because at the end of the day, still have to like, I still need to work and pay my bills and Acting is a bit of a labor of love. You got to really, really love it to kind of put yourself out there and do the work that you'd like to do.
Roxanne Patruznick: I saw you on stage like a long time ago. You were in,
Salim Sanchez: Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: I cannot remember the name of the play, but I got to see you dance and sing and you were a villain. You were so amazing.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah. that's right. my God. Yeah, I think that was Parade or something. That was a musical.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: Michael Robert Brown. Yeah, that was that was probably one of my favorite shows that I did because it had some it had a lot of I like to do things that have meaning. I can't just do a lot of fluff. Occasionally, that was, I would say fluff is like a young person's game. Like you want to, I got to do, I got to do this musical. I got to do this. But at that point in my career, I was, I still am, I'm very particular about what I choose to do and what's going to be worth my time and what I want to look back and say, wow, I'm glad I did that. That meant something. It had a pulse to it. But yeah, and the last show I did, I did a one man show about Louis Armstrong called Satchmo at the Waldorf, which was written by Terry Teachhouse, who's no longer with us. And I did that back in 2017. And I'd never done a one man show before. I think that was the one that kind of tested. me it was I was considered like a gut check because it's a one person show and the thing about a one person show no one's going to save you and it
Roxanne Patruznick: Ha
Salim Sanchez: it took all my experience that I had all my almost 30 years experience as as an actor doing everything that I've done all that experience it put it all to the test and and it kind of I wouldn't say burned me out, it really showed me like, it showed me a lot of things about myself that I was really proud of. But I don't know if I could keep doing something like this. especially where I'm in Portland, Portland at the time was a good theater. town and it was a good place to kind of show your work and kind of grind your teeth. But as we all know, once COVID came along three years later, it really completely changed the landscape of not only theater, but all the arts in Portland that was already struggling with grants and stuff like that and getting people to come to the shows. I had to really make a hard decision after I did that show in 2017 to kind of prioritize not only my financial health and stability, but my mental stability. Because, you know, it takes a lot and you don't get a lot out of it as far as finance. you don't do acting to be rich, you know.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah. Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: Even even if you do it professionally, you're doing television, you still got to be a movie. You have to be a superstar, you know, and I know a lot of people who do act professionally, who I see on TV and these small roles or these decent roles, and they still have to hustle. And once again, you have to be exceptional. You have to be you have to be exceptional. You have to the right. Look, the something, the right agent, there's a lot.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, there's a lot of parts that come together. another question for you, because you've been both on stage in front of the camera, but you also, as a photographer, you've been behind the camera. And I'm wondering, You being in front of the camera, has that helped you or has that impacted how you are as a photographer being behind the camera?
Salim Sanchez: Absolutely, absolutely. And I actually prefer being behind the camera more than being in front of the camera more so, especially as I get older. Because I like being part of the action. I don't want to be the attention. like being I like to contribute and I like to I like to let people shine. I like to showcase people. And I like to show them what I see, how I see them or how they'd like to be seen. And I've always loved photography even as a kid. But I would say within the last 10, 15 years, I've been more focused on shooting people and portraits and doing that kind of thing, being behind the camera. think it's just for me, it's a little bit more fulfilling. the older I get, the more I value, my privacy I don't need that kind of attention anymore. you think about social media too, how it all kind of started, how everyone was like, Hey, look at me. I'm about to do this. Look at me. And then you look back at your thing, you're like, ooh, why was I, why was I wondering all that attention? once again, I like to show people what I see. and I'll have to show my models what I see.
Roxanne Patruznick: I went to your website and your photography is amazing.
Salim Sanchez: thank you.
Roxanne Patruznick: Definitely, listeners, you gotta go check out Saleem's website.
Salim Sanchez: I appreciate that. Thank you.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, we'll have it at the end and in the show notes and all of that. But yeah, you've got an excellent eye, really great stuff.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. I love lighting. I think that's my favorite thing about shooting portrait work or even just any kind of photography, I love playing with lights. And one thing I learned about being on stage is lighting. one thing I remembered doing tech rehearsals and dress rehearsals and sitting and waiting for them to get the right light on us. You know, he's got to do this. And all of a you get this light and it changes the way you act because it's the mood. You know, like I remember
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: I did a show that show you saw being in. And there's a scene where I was getting interrogated. And one thing I remember from stage one on one acting one on one is If you point your head up, it makes you look like a good guy, innocent, but you point it down, you get the shadows, it makes you look bad. And you're going to mope this whole thing. And I was like, Ooh. And I started implementing in that. the moody light, that's like my thing. love moody lighting. and I started evolving with my shooting and I was learning as I went. as well. was lucky enough to have an apartment at the time that had a lot of space and I was able to bring in a lot of my acting friends to be my models. Sometimes I'd pay them beers, sometimes I'd it free or give them free shots. And I learned to hone in that moody light. it's really one of my favorite things about shooting portrait work. And I still try to implement it through the stuff I do today. And even going back before that, I was a visual arts major, so I did a lot of drawing. I did a lot of stuff that kind of stuff you did, but I did, my, my meaning was charcoal. I also learned how to draw, do negative space and do all the shading and all the shadow work I would take a lot of my models, I'd shoot them and then I draw from the shots. And then I started realizing, wow, this shot looks pretty good. Let me just keep shooting. And it turned around. went from me drawing what I shot to shooting what I drew. it all happened kind of organically and out of, you know, of pocket. but yeah, I think going back to your question, taking everything that I've done in my life and getting out of the spotlight and putting that on my camera was another way for me to make my photography what it is.
Roxanne Patruznick: Salim, you're also a really great model because you modeled for me. When I was, I was taking a photography class,
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, I've... Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: like a while back and my photography teacher, he was like, this man, he was saying you, you were like very handsome. He's like, wow, he's a good looking dude. Like, you know, I'm like, yeah.
Salim Sanchez: Oh, thank you. Yeah, I did a little modeling too. Like I do, I still do here and there. still, once again, I still have an agent. I turned everything down right now. I need to let my agent know like I'm not going anywhere. Like, I'm so sorry. I just have a job, but I appreciate that. I started modeling when I moved to Philadelphia. And it was through a girl I was dating who was happened to be a photographer who's a really good photographer. think she's still she shoots a lot of magazines and stuff like that. And she's the one who actually made me take photography seriously, like got it in my head. And she gave me my first camera. It was a knicker mat, like a little film camera. But I got to meet a lot of people in her network. And. sounds funny, but like, I met one of her friends ran a, like a fetish store. And they needed a model to model their stuff, their their gear and all their whatever. And I was not of that world. I was 21 years old. I was a dancer, I have still had my dancer body has all had my Bruce Lee ripped, six pack, I was just like, what the hell? She would bring me to this guy's studio and I get to meet all these people and she encouraged me to shoot and I used to model for her and I had no idea what I was doing. But I did it when I was dancing and I was the innocent kid from Kentucky who didn't even know what was going on. didn't really know the culture. I was just here to shoot, you know, all right, I'm going to go out here. And I shot for about a year or so with these people. And I remember one day I was walking to work in Philly. Philly has like these huge billboards on the side of the building, like those big ones you see on the side of the highway. And there's a big old picture of me and this girl. I'm wearing like a leather harness. And I'm like spanking her and it's like fetish boutique. And I'm like, my God, that's me. shit. It's like, wow. I have the card. I have the, yes, I have the card. And
Roxanne Patruznick: Do you still have that? Do you still have that photo? my God.
Salim Sanchez: I was the
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: poster boy for this fetish boutique. And this is a wild story. So at this time, I think this was like 2000. Jennifer Tilley was coming in town. I don't know if you know Jennifer Tilley, she's an actor. She was being presented with the Gay and Lesbian Film Award. because Philly is like a very, very artistic city and she was in Philly to set this award and she went to, she just happened to be come through this boutique and she saw my card. the card of the boutique and there's me on it. She said, my God, he's cute. Who is this? So yeah, this is one of our models. She's like, could you invite him to our award party? And I get a phone call. I was at work. I was working like at Starbucks or something and I had one of the first little Nokia phones. I get a call from somebody to say, hey, This is such as such we represent Jennifer Tilly. You know, do you know who she is? Like, I think so. Yeah. When she in that movie, like hot to trot or something. And she's like, yeah, well she invited you to come to her after party and she would want to know you want to show up. And I was like, what the hell is going on? Okay. Sure. So I get invited to this thing. I'm nervous. I don't know what the hell is going on. Like this is weird. I go to this party. I, you know, this is my first time actually also being around a lot of gay and lesbian people, you know, I come from, I was coming from Kentucky. I'm still cutting my teeth in Philly. I've been there for maybe a year and I'm immersed and it was amazing. I'm dancing. All of a she taps me in the shoulder and turns around there. She is like, Hey, how you doing? I this is, you know, I saw your thing. Thank you for coming. I was like, thank you for inviting me. Like, Oh my God. She's like, you want to dance? like, yeah, I'm just just like, before I leave, I still had some of these cards on me from the boutique. And I was like, could you sign my card? You know, she's of course. So she signed my card. I got a little picture with her and I'm like, my God. So it was like my first like modeling experience. Somebody recognized me and just happened to be Jennifer Tilly, you know, like, I was like, I guess this modeling thing is going to work out, you know, like, just out of nowhere. So guess I am good enough to get the attention to her, you know. So yeah, that right there is kind of started my modeling career. I did it on and off here and there whenever I could. And I still do. it's such a weird life I've been living lately. you know, like, just like, so lot of these things, like I said, that I fell into, this
Roxanne Patruznick: Hahaha
Salim Sanchez: is all by accident.
Roxanne Patruznick: feel like we could do several podcast episodes with you telling different stories. one question, before we get into the travel, How important is it for you to experience new things?
Salim Sanchez: Very. One thing that I told myself is not to limit myself. So always stay curious. Yeah, it's very important. think the more we know, the less fear we have. And I don't like living in fear. think when people fear, it's because they don't understand. and I don't ever want to live my life in fear. also I am a very curious person. And I think over the last few years, COVID and everything being what it was, I think it, least for me, it took me out of that place of wanting to expand to see the world, you know, and lot of it's not my fault or anyone else's fault. We just weren't, we weren't sure what was going to happen. and I didn't have the resources to get to be able to do the things that I used to be able to do. put me in survival mode. And especially I grew up very poor. And so I was always taught to be a survivalist. but I was also trying to push out of that. And last year or so, I decided to get out of that and get back into my. Curious face and get back out there and I think it's very, very important because this world we live in is so interesting. And there's so much more that we don't know. And despite having all this technology showing us a lot more than we would have seen in the 90s, you know, we have more access to seeing things and seeing how people think and, know, everything's a click away. mean, look, we're we're streaming from two different parts of the world right now. So I think it's important
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah
Salim Sanchez: to experience the things that we're seeing if we can. And I think right now it's a good opportunity. I'm older now. I'm going to be 48 next week or in a couple of weeks. And, and this is a different chapter in my life. And I want to experience things. knowing the things that I know now. And to see it with a lens, And I think it's very important to not lose your sense of adventure and curiosity. it's very important for me right now in my life to experience something and see the world and whatever that looks like.
Roxanne Patruznick: You've traveled a bunch in the US. You've
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm.
Roxanne Patruznick: lived a bunch of places. I'm wondering how traveling just in the US, how that's shaped you as a person.
Salim Sanchez: That's a very good question. people around the world who've never been to the U S need to realize that the U S is, is a very big place and every state is like its own country. I've gotten really good at code switching Because every part of the country has its own dialect and its own culture. And, I grew up in Louisiana, which is so Southern. it's like this Creole thing, you know, and it's not just Southern, it's Creole and Kentucky. It's not just Southern. It's it's I don't know how to explain it. It's different. so I've learned to adapt especially being from the city. I'm grateful that I've been able to move around so much. one of the things I've learned is how to adapt to different people, different kinds of people. I'm learned to, get along with everybody I also know when to look out for danger, you know? It's just helped me learn more about people, because I love people.
Roxanne Patruznick: So. you're about to travel to Europe for the first time.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Is this your first time traveling internationally?
Salim Sanchez: Yes, it is. Yes, it is. I've always wanted to do it. I've I've always been fascinated about Europe. I've always wanted to see it in person. And I have a lot of friends, including yourself, who live out there, have family out there, all over Europe. even my mom, she's traveled quite a bit. She's always told me and encouraged me. She's like, you'd be perfect. You would love it out there. she's always said, you're very worldly person anyway. So she's like, I think that would be perfect for you. And I think she's right because I do feel like it's going to reignite something in me. And once again, I love being able to experience new things and people, especially people. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: And do you have any expectations or intentions for your travel to Europe?
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, I do a little bit. I just goes back to my photography brain. I want to take a train. And I want to go through some backcountry and I just want to see the things that we don't see on television, the things we don't we don't think about the little things the little things not the big things like, oh, yeah, I'm gonna go see Paris and nothing. I want to see like the little things like going to some little neighborhood or going through some little town and just stop in for a minute and they at this at a stop and just noticing how people talk to each other or whatever and just like the little things because as American we all know the landmarks and stuff just like people in Europe what they would think America's like who never been to America. Oh yeah, you know, this is like this. And then you get here and you're like, oh, wait a minute, it's way more than I thought. Or not what I thought at all. so that's what I'm looking forward to more than anything. And like I said, go back to my photography brain. I'm I want to that's those are the things that I'm interested in seeing and through my lens and showing through my lens. I want to see going through some place with some rolling green hills or something or, you know, I'm going to be in. the Netherlands. want to see just the little canals, people just riding their bikes. I want to see the windmills, you know, I want to see these, architecture, which is something I'm very fascinated by. So that think that's the thing, you know.
Roxanne Patruznick: And do you do a bunch of research before you go like for this kind of trip or are you going to just jump right in?
Salim Sanchez: little bit of both. some things I want to surprise me. And there's other things obviously I want to kind of look into just just for, if I stop there, I want to know where I can go to get this thing or whatever. But other than that, I want to be surprised. I want to have the same feeling I had when I came to Portland. I wasn't planning on staying living in Portland when I came to visit here. And I came here to visit my bandmates and I was here on a work trip and I was not prepared for what I was going to see when I came here. cause I'd never been to Pacific Northwest prior to this. And I just remember flying in and seeing all the mountains poking through the clouds, being like, Whoa, wait a minute. I'm 30,000 feet in the air. How am I seeing this mountain right now? You know, like popping through the cloud and I was like, man, I'm in for a treat. And then landed. was just like fantasy, fairy tale land. was like, wow, this is great. The vibe, the energy, everyone was super laid back. So I'm hoping to see that when I go to Europe, I'm going to have that same kind of feeling of whimsy and like, Not just what I see, but what I'm going to feel Be it good or bad.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah. And here's just one really simple question. Why now?
Salim Sanchez: Why not, you Since feel like if I don't do this now, I may never be able to do it. I spent about six years living on my own I moved where I live now. Halloween of 2020. And shut down. There was a first time I truly, truly lived alone. Like I've always had my own place, but I always had like a roommate here and there, but I've never lived alone. And I spent so much time isolated and I had to learn how to, I had to learn who I was all by myself again. And I had moments of my ups and downs. has moments of depression and, and, and try off. And I had this moment where it's like, I'm living this life that I'm living. I don't have any children. I don't have anything holding me back. I don't have any assets. I don't own anything except for my car, I don't have any reason why I shouldn't do this, I felt at the time trapped. because of my job situation being the way it was and living this life of scarcity. Then I had a moment where I was like, you know what? Fuck it, man. We're all going to go anyway. The world's going to end either way. I need to go and see the world the way I've always wanted to see it. And by hook or crook, I'm going to make this happen. And I just had a moment where I was like, can't let my mind control my body. got to go out and remember who I used to be. And I got to take a chance. also, Very lucky and fortunate enough to have a friend over there who had already moved out there about four years prior, a very close friend. And she'd been encouraging me, like you have been encouraging me to come out there And my thing was like, hey, I just, I wish I had the money. I just don't have the money yet. I got to make sure that I can take care of my responsibilities before I can just, you know, gallivant around Europe. I just can't do that. But I was putting money away. And I had a plan. five years from now. If I could keep saving this amount of money, I'm going to be able to have the freedom to get out of here and have the option to tell my job, if I can't do this, well, I'm out. the company that I work for now bought my previous company. Which made me a little nervous, but I was able to stay on board when they bought us over and they kept all the employees. And with this particular company, they have a policy with their vacation, use it or lose it. So you have to use your vacation as opposed to the company I was before they would try to buy me out. they really discouraged their employees to take off more than a week, which is another reason why I wasn't able to take off like the amount of time I'd like to take off to go to Europe because least two weeks because you got to deal with jet lag and all that stuff. So this happened to work out with this company. was like, Hey, you got to take your vacation, you know, and, and I was like, Oh, cool. Well, all right. Well, this is what's going to happen. I'm going to take off two weeks. I had this conversation with my HR. I was like, you understand, I haven't taken a vacation over two weeks in over 20 years. And she's like, well, the reason why we recommend and tell people that you have to take your two weeks vacation because we don't want you to come and work with a shot gun because you're burnt out. So I was like, OK, well,
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: yeah, my my old boss was very discouraging of that. And that's why we had a lot of troubles in my old job, which is essentially why he sold the business. So I once again, this is all timing and it all worked out.
Roxanne Patruznick: Ahem.
Salim Sanchez: I'm. not anxious about taking time off and I feel more like, yeah, I deserve and I've earned this. I've worked so hard to get here, to be able to like have the freedom to go out and see the world again and not be trapped here and feel like I'm just a working cog in this whole machine. And if I can make it work,
Roxanne Patruznick: Europeans, I think, for the most part, and even other places around the world, I think that they don't live to work, they
Salim Sanchez: rights.
Roxanne Patruznick: work to just live and that most of the emphasis, especially in like a country like Spain and other Mediterranean parts, I mean, really all over Europe, everybody's
Salim Sanchez: Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: not killing themselves with work.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, it's kind of beautiful. Like it's all about like really enjoying your life and being
Salim Sanchez: Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: with your friends and your family and eating good food and having fun, you know, relaxing.
Salim Sanchez: Yes. And that's frowned upon here. talking to my friend who who was an expat to hear her say the things she says about just being over there. It's just so much of a vibe. it's not like they're lazy. They are hardworking people. It's just like the, the money that they pay. pays for everything. And just even talk to my friend in the Netherlands,
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, yeah.
Salim Sanchez: she's like, you know, you pay more in taxes, but you see it working around you. You see the trains working. It's clean. The medical system is not all crazy. The education, all that stuff. I'm like, yeah, they're doing fine over there.
Roxanne Patruznick: you have any concerns about traveling to Europe or internationally in general?
Salim Sanchez: yes, I do, but I've never left the country before. There's a couple of things I'm nervous about. going through the process of leaving, going through the passport process, leaving this country. There was a time where flying used to be fun and easy and now it's not, especially after 9-11. And I'm just more nervous about like the technical stuff, like where to go and like, what are they looking for? Am I going to be on some weird watch list that I didn't know I was on? You know what I mean? Like I have an Arabic first name and a Swahili middle name and a Spanish last name. You know, like, is it the real person? I am a very multicultural person and I'm a person of color and leaving the U S and then once I get to another country, I'm afraid of being hassled because of that as well. Like, I have such a weird mix of things. My history is not linear, you know what mean? It's not this monolithic thing, you know? So I'm just nervous about the technical travel passport stuff and being mixed up with something weird. but other than that, those are just anxieties. I'm sure everything will be fine. I think mainly it's just because I've never left the country before.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, I think a lot of people have like anxieties, different kinds of anxieties about, you know, they just don't know what to expect. And you can't do the first time over again, you only get one first time. And so I think where you're going, like the Netherlands, and then you were talking about maybe going to Paris, but France, that's a great first time.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: I'm wondering, is there a must see or must do in Europe or what are you the most excited about for your trip?
Salim Sanchez: Very good question. I would say. Let's see here. Well, I would love to see Paris. I would like to, you know, obviously do all the touristy stuff, but I just want to be able to like get, I don't know. I just want to be able to like get some real food, like real, real, real cheese, real butter, you know, and just be able to sit somewhere. and just eat and just listen. That's all. That's the biggest thing I'm looking forward to is sitting and listening to people talk. because, you know, I've been American for so long, all I hear is just American people talking English and that kind of stuff. I'm more excited to experience another culture. You know, and even in the Netherlands, I want to see the canals. My friend that I'm staying with, literally lives on the canal. I want to see that and Like I said, that's really, just to see big connections with people, that's the biggest thing. I want to make friends with people and be able to go to a pub and throw some darts or whatever, whatever they like to do. That's it. You know, nothing too crazy. those are the things I'm looking forward to just connections with people and Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Well, I'm, I am super excited for you. And I, had the idea of, of making this episode, having two parts, like the before part, you go on your trip. And then when you come back home to Portland, hopefully I can check back in with you and you can tell me about your trip or any insights that you have from your travels.
Salim Sanchez: yeah, I'm excited about that. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Well, awesome. I'm just going to say bye for now. And then, on the episode, it'll, jump to the future.
Salim Sanchez: Yes, yes, absolutely. Yeah, I'm looking forward to all this.
Roxanne Patruznick: Okay, bye!
Salim Sanchez: All right, thank you, bye.
Roxanne Patruznick: Welcome back from your European adventure, Celine.
Salim Sanchez: Well, thanks. Good to be back.
Roxanne Patruznick: it's like we traveled through time It's been a couple of weeks. When we last spoke, you mentioned you were looking forward to seeing like little things and nuances. And
Salim Sanchez: you
Roxanne Patruznick: I'm wondering how much of your experience fulfilled your expectations and was there anything
Salim Sanchez: OHHHH
Roxanne Patruznick: that surprised you?
Salim Sanchez: All the things, man. I was very fortunate to be in a smaller town. I was about 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam, which was like a mini Amsterdam. And what was really nice about going here was you just get to see people living their normal lives and just doing what they do. I love the fact that I was not there during tour season, it wasn't, you know, it was really just simple. And one thing I tripped out about and I didn't even think about it until I got there, it just like the sirens. Like little things like that. Oh yeah, that's right. That's right. That's right. That's how they do it here. That's what it sounds like over here, you know? I felt like I was in an alternative, alternate, alternate universe. where we have all the same things, but they're just a little different, you know? what are the things that I knew I was going to run into was like the history and go into this small little city where all the roads are small and the car is small and everyone, have to bike everywhere, which was awesome. And the, just the old architecture, you know, going back to the 1400s and even further back. I love that. And I think that was the thing that I was really looking forward to. And the thing that. that surprised me as well was just how diverse this place was. I knew there was going to be some people from other countries because everything's so close together, it was a place that was very diverse. People color everywhere, integrated with the city, and everyone just got along really well. One of the places I grew up was in a small town. So I had that kind of, that same kind of feeling where everybody kind of knew each other's business. I would say the other thing that I was kind of, looking forward to in, in was I'm a biker. I'm like a, a cyclist. So I loved how this place was engineered, where it was just bikes first and cars second. You know, it's just one lane for the cars. then the, all the, there's just the, the thought that went into just riding around and having to get around the city and town on your bike was really cool. Like how the roads were mapped out. one thing that I wasn't prepared for was like how cool the grocery stores were, you know, like it was very subtle. it was cheaper. and I liked that there wasn't a lot of like processed food at these places. So I was actually able to eat the same way I was eating. I would eat here, but I didn't feel as guilty.
Roxanne Patruznick: You
Salim Sanchez: and, like they had like the Ritos and everything. had Fanta, but it tasted a little different. you know, and it was because it wasn't all that stuff in there. Like even Arizona tea is my shh, it's one of my favorite teas to drink just when I'm out and about. They had that, but it didn't taste the same way because it wasn't all that crazy stuff in there. And I really liked that kind of thing. I don't know what it was about it, but like I just liked that and just riding around the city. in town and just going off of my little adventures and shooting here and there. it's just those little things I pick up on. just the main thing was just like the history I felt and I and being surrounded by everybody who was super nice, especially when I started speaking, because initially they think, he's African or something. And then I'd start speaking and he's English. Like, hey, like, how are you doing? Wow. Did not expect that. And Yeah, people were really welcoming and I had a really good guest. I mean, I had a good host who was an expat and she'd been there for four years. So she managed to make a lot of friends. And so I was able to like have a lot of people who kind of knew I was coming and they were really welcoming. They'd bring me gifts. would bring me like things from their culture that I was trying and food and beer and all kinds of stuff. So. Yeah, it was really awesome.
Roxanne Patruznick: So, so was there like when you first got there, was there a thing that really grabbed you? Like, was there a thing that went pow, my God, you know, like, was there an initial surprise?
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, yeah. So when I flew in, as I was flying in, it was tulip season. And the first thing I noticed when I came in was just like how colorful, I felt like I was flying into Oz in a way. Like that's what it felt like now to think about it. It felt like I was flying into Oz because it was just like, cartoonishly like just different. I'm flying in, I'm seeing just all these weird patterns, know, and that area is kind of like a marsh because it's underneath the sea level, so it's very spotty with the water and everything. So you get to see what's coming into. And that really shocked me, especially as I landed and came in and just like, wow, there are windmills everywhere. Wow, this is crazy. Just, I don't know how to explain it, but just the vibe. And obviously, I'm so used to being around people, Americans, people speak English. it's just like that, just the culture just hit me. But yeah, I would say the biggest thing would be the colors, my friend picked me up from the airport. So we were gonna drive back to this town. So it was like 30 minutes. so I would say for me, the biggest thing was just like, the colors. yeah, I just realized right away, this is the furthest away from anything I've ever been, you know, yeah, I say the biggest thing though, it be the thing that I, I kind of thought it would be, it's just like, wow, look at that windmill. Holy crap. This place is.
Roxanne Patruznick: Hahaha
Salim Sanchez: way ahead of us as far as like, you know, how to get things done,
Roxanne Patruznick: what did you think of the language? You'd probably see signs and you'd saw how things were written and then you'd hear people speak. What was your impression?
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, yeah, it was cool. I know that if I ever were to prepare myself for the language, it would take a long time because their language is very hard. And I managed to pick up a few things on the way out, but like, I thought it was really cool, especially watching the commercials. You know, it's just like, yeah, they got to say, you know, T-Mobile or whatever, but it's all in their language.
Roxanne Patruznick: You
Salim Sanchez: wow. This is cool. Like I'm sure if I stayed here for a few months or a year, I can kind of pick it up. like, yeah, it was, it was definitely cool. especially like I said, when you go to a country and English is not the first language and you get to see their culture and how they just talk and how they conduct their business. So, yeah, I thought it was pretty cool. most languages I can kind of pick up like, yeah, French, I can pick that up in my ear and we've exposed to German or Spanish, but Dutch, you don't hear Dutch just casually in America. So, so yeah, that's.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, yeah. And speaking of America, did you notice anything traveling as an American? Like, how did it feel to be an American in Europe?
Salim Sanchez: if it didn't feel as bad as I thought it was going to feel, and you know, what's really crazy. You've had a lot of people that I talked to who, you know, who felt, you know, Noah's America and everything. And I had a few people pull me inside and I was a little relieved to know that everybody that I spoke to weren't like, what the fuck, you know, it's just like, Hey
Roxanne Patruznick: Ha
Salim Sanchez: dude, we are, we totally understand. We understand, man. We, we, see what's going on. and they kind of get it, you know, and I had somebody pull me aside and ask me a few questions about like, did you vote for that guy, blah, blah, what's going on? And I had to remind them, say, you got to remember our country is only 250 years old. Okay. We're, still like in primary school. We, you can tell by how we act. We're still kind of like, we're very young and you know, Europe is way older and I'm sure you guys are still going through these things and but I'm sure 250 years of whatever your country was you had your own kind of thing. You know, we just live in a time when we have more technology and you could see everything and you think we'd be no better having what we have. But it doesn't matter. We're still going to be we're still going to be who we are. That's why we have laws and stuff. So but yeah, I had a pretty good pretty good I didn't threatened or anything. And I didn't feel as embarrassed as I thought I would, because I didn't realize how much they look up to Americans, at least how much they like Americans, at least the people that I saw and hung out with. My friend invited me to a few barbecues and stuff while we were there. so I was able to talk to certain people who knew I was coming in from all over the world, really. And they all seemed pretty cool. They all had questions, which was really cool. They're very curious. So I thought it was really nice. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: That's great.
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm.
Roxanne Patruznick: so another question I wanted to ask is, how it's been since you've returned home, integrating from Europe back to the US, and if you've had any takeaways or realizations from your experience.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, my integration, will say for the first few days was, oh, even just flying back, even when I knew I was coming back and I got my layover in Seattle, that anxiety started ramping up again a little bit because, you know, things are a lot more expensive here. Things are just a little bit like, for instance, like over there, they don't waste like we waste here. for instance, going to the grocery store and getting a bottle of Coke or something, they have a little, you can't take the lids off because they don't want you to throw it away. you know, little things, they, they keep it simple. And here, one of the things that really got me upset was just like coming back and realize how much garbage we waste and how much we we rip each other off. know, I'm at a point in my life where if I'm going to pay more, the quality needs to be there, you know? And I noticed that when I came back, I was just like, oh, I feel like this is just a big grift, you know, sometimes. I understand that this country is a machine. And I felt like I was just going back into the machine to keep it moving. I had a conversation with somebody out there and I was like, you got to understand this country, America, we produce weapons and consumers, you know, and while we work so hard here and we don't have the kind of holidays that you have, know, people are there, they work and they live their life. We have to work to have a life. And I started feeling that when I came back And so that, that anger and that angst, that bitterness started coming back a little bit, but then I had to realize like everybody all over the world is dealing with what we're dealing with. It's just a different flavor, and I have to remember like, I was very fortunate and privileged enough to go out and see America from afar and to see the world. Not a lot of people will be able to have the opportunity that I have. So I had to be humble and grateful and I had to let all that angst and bitterness go and just be grateful and remember that there are people in the world who have it way worse than we do. and these kinds of things that I feel come and go. And this is You know, we live in a
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: time where I can, you anybody could just fly over the world, go somewhere else.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, and you know what's interesting? only in Europe for a short period of time, and it sounds like you were around a lot of people from the Netherlands. You're around people from there. And what's funny is like, being critical of where we're from is kind of easy. Like I'm totally, I'm always bagging on the
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm.
Roxanne Patruznick: US and of course, you know, the political
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm.
Roxanne Patruznick: situation there. But what's interesting, what you just were talking about is people, you said that people that you met looked up to Americans and
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm.
Roxanne Patruznick: how was that point of view? How was it to see, you know, the US from, through the eyes of Europeans that actually like Americans or see the good? did that give you anything, I guess?
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, it made me realize when I had these conversations, people, would tell me, yeah, we had, we have the same kind of thing. We had this guy who tried to do this and we have these people who try to do this and corruption is everywhere. And, and one of the things that really gave me comfort was like, they know that this whole thing. was kind of manufactured and I've been saying this I feel like a conspiracy theory guy but it's like there I have told people where we are right now is a symptom of something bigger and people understand that we are in a time where you know we've been kind of played a little bit emotionally. I had to remind people, it's not the fear of the powers coming and just taking our rights. No, it's us just being fooled to give people our rights and our consent you know, based on our fear. I mean, you think about last 10 years, like we've been arguing about stuff that we all agree on. And I've been distracted It took a good amount of time to get us to where we are. And then you got to think about what happened even before the 10 years to get us here. And I had a friend bring her daughter over. She was nine years old and she came over. wanted to come and meet me and she had questions just like you. And I had to let her know, like, because she was just like, what is it like being an African American and da, da, da, and like, where do you live, you know, blah, blah, blah. She's asked me really cool questions. And she was asking me the same kind of question you were asking me. And I had to basically give her the same answers. they feed on fear and anger. There is a line that you get to where you have to kind of say, OK, I'm getting too worked up. What's really going on here? And one thing that I reminded her is there's nothing wrong with being angry. But if you become bitter, that's when you lose. And you don't want to hear anything. You don't want hear anybody's
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: answer. Then you start forming your own echo chamber. You don't want learn. And that's kind of what has happened with the divide in this country is they've gotten a lot of people so worked up. to the point we don't even want to like get together and be like, hey, this is not good for anybody we do this thing now where we're othering people. So we don't want to even want to hear them. And I had to tell her that it's like, there's nothing wrong with being angry, but you got to use that anger for good. You got to that will motivate you. But if you get so caught up in your own personal anger, then you're not going to want to listen to anybody. like I said, I had a lot of people asking about what's going on here because This is something that's unprecedented in, and
Roxanne Patruznick: Mm-hmm.
Salim Sanchez: everyone is suffering from it, not just Americans, but people all over the world. This is bad for everybody. And It's going to take decades to repair. Yeah. mean, that's
Roxanne Patruznick: It has an impact. The US actually, when I first went to Spain, I met up with some expats there. And one of the women that I am still friends with, she said that, whatever is happening in the US, it affects the whole rest of the world. And that kind of,
Salim Sanchez: yes it does.
Roxanne Patruznick: like, I think I never understood until someone from another country told that to me.
Salim Sanchez: Hell yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: I got it differently not being in the US too, when you're surrounded by people that aren't Americans and you're having
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm.
Roxanne Patruznick: conversations. I think that's really eye-opening. But okay,
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: I wanna ask Do you have any future travel plans?
Salim Sanchez: Oh, I so I told myself I'm gonna try to do this every year. Um, because this happens right around my birthday. And I also, when I got there is their king's birthday, Koningstock. And he shut the city down for two days, everyone's wearing orange, and they're just drinking in the streets and celebrating. DJs playing, dancing, I did all that, which was awesome. And like, I'm gonna try to do this every year if I can come out here. And it's not that hard to get here from Portland because you could fly straight to Amstrad from Portland, which is perfect for sometimes under a thousand dollars round trip. So, so yeah, I plan on coming back and next time I didn't have time this time, but I was going to try to go to Paris, France, and I got friends in Spain. I really want to make my way up to Scotland. I want to go up to Dublin. I want to do a lot of things now that I got the bug back. and I have a plan, you know, and I have money put away and now I want to try to do this as much as I can. So yeah, every year around this time in my birthday, because it's not tourist season, which is also important for me. I think that it'll be really nice to have something to look forward to, which is something that I had been lacking for the last few years is something to look forward to. You get caught up in your old routine, work, come home. For me, I figure why not? I don't have anything holding me back. And now that I know, got a little taste and I know it's easier than I thought, I'm going to try to do as much as I can. So yeah, yeah, I do have plans coming back and you know, now I can go anywhere. Like I also been wanting to go to Japan. And I was just like, wait a minute, I can actually go to Japan if I wanted to. Holy crap. Like, yeah, I can go anywhere. I just kind of need to have the time
Roxanne Patruznick: You
Salim Sanchez: and money. So yeah, I plan on doing it. And hopefully I'll come out and see you guys wherever you're going to be.
Roxanne Patruznick: Definitely. It's so interesting because the first time you kind of crack that seal on going to Europe, traveling internationally, it just opens the floodgates. You realize there's no limit. You can really go anywhere. Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, yeah, if you plan it right and get the jet lag thing down, you know, which was a thing for me the first few days, I was fighting for my life trying to stay awake. But I, I managed to get over that. And it was so where all that was totally worth it just being away from here for a minute and the furthest I'd ever been away from home and I'm a geography nerd too, so just like the fact that I was flying over Canada and over Greenland and Iceland and I was just like, oh wow, this is cool. I was taking so many pictures, geeking out. I had a bit of an emotional moment there too on the plane by my, well, I sit next to somebody who happened to be pretty cool, but like I was trying to keep it all in, but like it was pretty, it was a big deal for me.
Roxanne Patruznick: That's really awesome. Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, I really, really, really liked it. And I was surprised also a little side note, I was surprised at how good the airplane food was. The meals were I went through Delta. Yeah,
Roxanne Patruznick: What airline did you drive? Delta, okay, yeah.
Salim Sanchez: it was pretty good. I was like, Oh, wow, this is actually this makes me feel like I was three 911 flying or something like, well, that's hot food and it's free. And wow, my
Roxanne Patruznick: You
Salim Sanchez: seat is actually big enough for a regular human being. Okay, so yeah, it was good.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, I feel like this is like an ad. They should like give me some money. But okay, so I have
Salim Sanchez: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: one last question. Do you have anything, any creative plans? Maybe something sparked
Salim Sanchez: Yeah
Roxanne Patruznick: on your travels creatively?
Salim Sanchez: A little bit. took some really, so I took a few pictures and somebody was like, you should do postcards. I was like, oh yeah, I should think about that. my shots are from my travels and I, I'd like to be able to share my experience in a way. like, I'm not trying to get rich or anything, but it just like, it inspired me as I'm taking pictures wherever I go. it really like reinvigorated my love for photography. and I figured like, if I do postcards just for my friends, you know, I'll probably start doing that, but yeah, photography. is something that got reinvigorated and I want to try to like incorporate that more with my travels I feel like with my perspective, I think I might be able to like do something with that. I'm still trying to figure it out, but yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah,
Salim Sanchez: You
Roxanne Patruznick: your work is really beautiful. And I have a couple of ideas we could talk about later if you want.
Salim Sanchez: I appreciate it. Yeah. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, definitely. Some things that would be good. I just want to thank you again for doing this with me. You're so awesome. You're a dear friend.
Salim Sanchez: yeah, thank you. Thank you. Yeah, same here.
Roxanne Patruznick: And also, I just want to know where people can find your photography and listen to your music. you have any links or any.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, you can go to my website. If you want to see my photography at salim sanchez.com. Pretty simple. you can see a lot of my stuff. will be posting photos of my trip in my travel folder. if you want to hear my music, I'm on Spotify with my band. We're called cicada omega. That's C I C A D A omega and or Cosmic Butter is another one. do funk, funk soul, 80s funk soul. then, Cicada Omega is more like a hillbilly soul blues rock band. So you can find both of those on Spotify. And, but yeah, that's what I have right now. as far as my... my website and everything. all of my, my work is on there And it has all my different kinds of things that I shoot So that's where you can find me. SalimSanchez.com. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Excellent. So folks, if you enjoyed this podcast and would like to hear others, please head over to my website, travelcreaterepeat.com and subscribe to my emails. There you can also read my travel blog as well as see my art shop. You can also support me on Patreon and you can find Travel Create Repeat on Patreon. Thanks again for listening. Happy travels and creativity and I'll see you on the next episode. Bye!
Salim Sanchez: Hey!
Salim Sanchez: Why not, you Since feel like if I don't do this now, I may never be able to do it. I'm living this life that I'm living. I don't have any children. I don't have anything holding me back. I don't have any assets. I don't own anything except for my car, I don't have any reason why I shouldn't do this, Then I had a moment where I was like, you know what? Fuck it, man. We're all going to go anyway. The world's going to end either way. I need to go and see the world And by hook or crook, I'm going to make this happen. got to go out and remember who I used to be. And I got to take a chance.
Roxanne Patruznick: Welcome to Travel Create Repeat, where we talk with fellow artists, writers, and performers about travel and creativity. I'm Roxanne, and I'm an artist nomad who's been traveling full time since
Salim Sanchez: you
Roxanne Patruznick: 2017. Today's podcast guest is Salim Sanchez, an actor, a musician, a visual artist, and a photographer. So, Celine. Hey.
Salim Sanchez: Thanks for having me. How you doing?
Roxanne Patruznick: I'm doing really good. It's really great to have you on the on the show. And just tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from originally?
Salim Sanchez: So I'm originally from New York City, Brooklyn. And yeah, I was born in New York and kind of traveled all over the country. I would say I spent my formative years in Kentucky. So I kind of claim that a little bit more. That's where I kind of found myself, I guess. But yeah, I was originally born in New York, just to keep it simple. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: And how long have you lived in Portland, Oregon?
Salim Sanchez: This will be my 21st year. Moved here in 05 from Philadelphia. And yeah, it's, I think this is the longest I've been anywhere. And, you know, like I said, before I was born in New York, but I I grew up with a nomadic artist mother. we left New York when the Bronx was on fire back in the late seventies. And she moved us down to Louisiana where she found some directing work in Shreveport. lived there for about eight years and then moved to DC for about three or four years. And then from there, moved to Kentucky by accident and spent about 10 years there. And then in Texas. And at this point I was still in high school and I ended up staying in Kentucky. once my mother left, so I lived on my own. And then I ended up going to the university that was in the town that I grew up in Kentucky, Murray State. And I majored in theater and visual arts, minored in dance. And then from there, I had moved to Philadelphia to start my acting career, my professional dance career. And I was there for about six years. And then, I five, that's when I moved to Portland. to meet up with some of my old bandmates that I knew in Kentucky, who had already moved to Portland at this point. And I reunited with them in Portland in 05. So I've been here for 21 years and yeah, it's been quite a, quite a thing. all I did was traveling and just kind of adapt And this is the place I kind of stuck to for a little bit, and I will say it's been quite an experience.
Roxanne Patruznick: That's fabulous. And you know, you just reminded me that you also are a dancer. Like I, that's another thing that I forgot to mention. Like you, you're a
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: regular Renaissance man. So, so moving into the art arena, you work across several creative mediums. And I'm wondering if there's one that you're more focused on presently and what drew you to this particular medium.
Salim Sanchez: a very good question. I would say the most consistent medium right now has been music. And I do this with my guys here. And we don't perform out as much as we used to, but it's something that we still consistently do. I still play with these guys every weekend or so whenever we get together and this way. it's also a way for us to stay connected and it's just so easy to play music. it's a good outlet for us. We had a moment where we were playing and touring and we were doing the thing. but I would say it's like anybody who likes to just paint on their, on their, on their, you know, downtime and whatever, or people just. people who do their little, their artistic talent or whatever, just for them. This is how I feel about music. It's just something we do for us. And I would say that's the most consistent thing I do artistically. And then photography goes second. I do pick up lot of photography gigs. They all vary from events. to headshots professionally. I shoot more events. But I would say it's a semi-professional hobby.
Roxanne Patruznick: Hahaha
Salim Sanchez: And I don't do it to get rich or anything. I just do it because I enjoy doing it and it's just nice to get me out of the house. And if you'll pay me a little bit, that's fine. but I don't, you know, I don't lean on that. It's just something I enjoy doing. so I would say photography and, and music are my two main, inspirations right now. The things that I do consistently in my, out of all the things that I do, I do occasionally act. I do, I still have an agent. I still have work that comes my way. I don't. do as much anymore. As much as I love it, it does take a lot out of you. It's a lot more of a commitment, especially if it's something that has roles and if something that's really chunky. But right now it's trying to prioritize a lot of different things because at the end of the day, still have to like, I still need to work and pay my bills and Acting is a bit of a labor of love. You got to really, really love it to kind of put yourself out there and do the work that you'd like to do.
Roxanne Patruznick: I saw you on stage like a long time ago. You were in,
Salim Sanchez: Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: I cannot remember the name of the play, but I got to see you dance and sing and you were a villain. You were so amazing.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah. that's right. my God. Yeah, I think that was Parade or something. That was a musical.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: Michael Robert Brown. Yeah, that was that was probably one of my favorite shows that I did because it had some it had a lot of I like to do things that have meaning. I can't just do a lot of fluff. Occasionally, that was, I would say fluff is like a young person's game. Like you want to, I got to do, I got to do this musical. I got to do this. But at that point in my career, I was, I still am, I'm very particular about what I choose to do and what's going to be worth my time and what I want to look back and say, wow, I'm glad I did that. That meant something. It had a pulse to it. But yeah, and the last show I did, I did a one man show about Louis Armstrong called Satchmo at the Waldorf, which was written by Terry Teachhouse, who's no longer with us. And I did that back in 2017. And I'd never done a one man show before. I think that was the one that kind of tested. me it was I was considered like a gut check because it's a one person show and the thing about a one person show no one's going to save you and it
Roxanne Patruznick: Ha
Salim Sanchez: it took all my experience that I had all my almost 30 years experience as as an actor doing everything that I've done all that experience it put it all to the test and and it kind of I wouldn't say burned me out, it really showed me like, it showed me a lot of things about myself that I was really proud of. But I don't know if I could keep doing something like this. especially where I'm in Portland, Portland at the time was a good theater. town and it was a good place to kind of show your work and kind of grind your teeth. But as we all know, once COVID came along three years later, it really completely changed the landscape of not only theater, but all the arts in Portland that was already struggling with grants and stuff like that and getting people to come to the shows. I had to really make a hard decision after I did that show in 2017 to kind of prioritize not only my financial health and stability, but my mental stability. Because, you know, it takes a lot and you don't get a lot out of it as far as finance. you don't do acting to be rich, you know.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah. Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: Even even if you do it professionally, you're doing television, you still got to be a movie. You have to be a superstar, you know, and I know a lot of people who do act professionally, who I see on TV and these small roles or these decent roles, and they still have to hustle. And once again, you have to be exceptional. You have to be you have to be exceptional. You have to the right. Look, the something, the right agent, there's a lot.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, there's a lot of parts that come together. another question for you, because you've been both on stage in front of the camera, but you also, as a photographer, you've been behind the camera. And I'm wondering, You being in front of the camera, has that helped you or has that impacted how you are as a photographer being behind the camera?
Salim Sanchez: Absolutely, absolutely. And I actually prefer being behind the camera more than being in front of the camera more so, especially as I get older. Because I like being part of the action. I don't want to be the attention. like being I like to contribute and I like to I like to let people shine. I like to showcase people. And I like to show them what I see, how I see them or how they'd like to be seen. And I've always loved photography even as a kid. But I would say within the last 10, 15 years, I've been more focused on shooting people and portraits and doing that kind of thing, being behind the camera. think it's just for me, it's a little bit more fulfilling. the older I get, the more I value, my privacy I don't need that kind of attention anymore. you think about social media too, how it all kind of started, how everyone was like, Hey, look at me. I'm about to do this. Look at me. And then you look back at your thing, you're like, ooh, why was I, why was I wondering all that attention? once again, I like to show people what I see. and I'll have to show my models what I see.
Roxanne Patruznick: I went to your website and your photography is amazing.
Salim Sanchez: thank you.
Roxanne Patruznick: Definitely, listeners, you gotta go check out Saleem's website.
Salim Sanchez: I appreciate that. Thank you.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, we'll have it at the end and in the show notes and all of that. But yeah, you've got an excellent eye, really great stuff.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. I love lighting. I think that's my favorite thing about shooting portrait work or even just any kind of photography, I love playing with lights. And one thing I learned about being on stage is lighting. one thing I remembered doing tech rehearsals and dress rehearsals and sitting and waiting for them to get the right light on us. You know, he's got to do this. And all of a you get this light and it changes the way you act because it's the mood. You know, like I remember
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: I did a show that show you saw being in. And there's a scene where I was getting interrogated. And one thing I remember from stage one on one acting one on one is If you point your head up, it makes you look like a good guy, innocent, but you point it down, you get the shadows, it makes you look bad. And you're going to mope this whole thing. And I was like, Ooh. And I started implementing in that. the moody light, that's like my thing. love moody lighting. and I started evolving with my shooting and I was learning as I went. as well. was lucky enough to have an apartment at the time that had a lot of space and I was able to bring in a lot of my acting friends to be my models. Sometimes I'd pay them beers, sometimes I'd it free or give them free shots. And I learned to hone in that moody light. it's really one of my favorite things about shooting portrait work. And I still try to implement it through the stuff I do today. And even going back before that, I was a visual arts major, so I did a lot of drawing. I did a lot of stuff that kind of stuff you did, but I did, my, my meaning was charcoal. I also learned how to draw, do negative space and do all the shading and all the shadow work I would take a lot of my models, I'd shoot them and then I draw from the shots. And then I started realizing, wow, this shot looks pretty good. Let me just keep shooting. And it turned around. went from me drawing what I shot to shooting what I drew. it all happened kind of organically and out of, you know, of pocket. but yeah, I think going back to your question, taking everything that I've done in my life and getting out of the spotlight and putting that on my camera was another way for me to make my photography what it is.
Roxanne Patruznick: Salim, you're also a really great model because you modeled for me. When I was, I was taking a photography class,
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, I've... Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: like a while back and my photography teacher, he was like, this man, he was saying you, you were like very handsome. He's like, wow, he's a good looking dude. Like, you know, I'm like, yeah.
Salim Sanchez: Oh, thank you. Yeah, I did a little modeling too. Like I do, I still do here and there. still, once again, I still have an agent. I turned everything down right now. I need to let my agent know like I'm not going anywhere. Like, I'm so sorry. I just have a job, but I appreciate that. I started modeling when I moved to Philadelphia. And it was through a girl I was dating who was happened to be a photographer who's a really good photographer. think she's still she shoots a lot of magazines and stuff like that. And she's the one who actually made me take photography seriously, like got it in my head. And she gave me my first camera. It was a knicker mat, like a little film camera. But I got to meet a lot of people in her network. And. sounds funny, but like, I met one of her friends ran a, like a fetish store. And they needed a model to model their stuff, their their gear and all their whatever. And I was not of that world. I was 21 years old. I was a dancer, I have still had my dancer body has all had my Bruce Lee ripped, six pack, I was just like, what the hell? She would bring me to this guy's studio and I get to meet all these people and she encouraged me to shoot and I used to model for her and I had no idea what I was doing. But I did it when I was dancing and I was the innocent kid from Kentucky who didn't even know what was going on. didn't really know the culture. I was just here to shoot, you know, all right, I'm going to go out here. And I shot for about a year or so with these people. And I remember one day I was walking to work in Philly. Philly has like these huge billboards on the side of the building, like those big ones you see on the side of the highway. And there's a big old picture of me and this girl. I'm wearing like a leather harness. And I'm like spanking her and it's like fetish boutique. And I'm like, my God, that's me. shit. It's like, wow. I have the card. I have the, yes, I have the card. And
Roxanne Patruznick: Do you still have that? Do you still have that photo? my God.
Salim Sanchez: I was the
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: poster boy for this fetish boutique. And this is a wild story. So at this time, I think this was like 2000. Jennifer Tilley was coming in town. I don't know if you know Jennifer Tilley, she's an actor. She was being presented with the Gay and Lesbian Film Award. because Philly is like a very, very artistic city and she was in Philly to set this award and she went to, she just happened to be come through this boutique and she saw my card. the card of the boutique and there's me on it. She said, my God, he's cute. Who is this? So yeah, this is one of our models. She's like, could you invite him to our award party? And I get a phone call. I was at work. I was working like at Starbucks or something and I had one of the first little Nokia phones. I get a call from somebody to say, hey, This is such as such we represent Jennifer Tilly. You know, do you know who she is? Like, I think so. Yeah. When she in that movie, like hot to trot or something. And she's like, yeah, well she invited you to come to her after party and she would want to know you want to show up. And I was like, what the hell is going on? Okay. Sure. So I get invited to this thing. I'm nervous. I don't know what the hell is going on. Like this is weird. I go to this party. I, you know, this is my first time actually also being around a lot of gay and lesbian people, you know, I come from, I was coming from Kentucky. I'm still cutting my teeth in Philly. I've been there for maybe a year and I'm immersed and it was amazing. I'm dancing. All of a she taps me in the shoulder and turns around there. She is like, Hey, how you doing? I this is, you know, I saw your thing. Thank you for coming. I was like, thank you for inviting me. Like, Oh my God. She's like, you want to dance? like, yeah, I'm just just like, before I leave, I still had some of these cards on me from the boutique. And I was like, could you sign my card? You know, she's of course. So she signed my card. I got a little picture with her and I'm like, my God. So it was like my first like modeling experience. Somebody recognized me and just happened to be Jennifer Tilly, you know, like, I was like, I guess this modeling thing is going to work out, you know, like, just out of nowhere. So guess I am good enough to get the attention to her, you know. So yeah, that right there is kind of started my modeling career. I did it on and off here and there whenever I could. And I still do. it's such a weird life I've been living lately. you know, like, just like, so lot of these things, like I said, that I fell into, this
Roxanne Patruznick: Hahaha
Salim Sanchez: is all by accident.
Roxanne Patruznick: feel like we could do several podcast episodes with you telling different stories. one question, before we get into the travel, How important is it for you to experience new things?
Salim Sanchez: Very. One thing that I told myself is not to limit myself. So always stay curious. Yeah, it's very important. think the more we know, the less fear we have. And I don't like living in fear. think when people fear, it's because they don't understand. and I don't ever want to live my life in fear. also I am a very curious person. And I think over the last few years, COVID and everything being what it was, I think it, least for me, it took me out of that place of wanting to expand to see the world, you know, and lot of it's not my fault or anyone else's fault. We just weren't, we weren't sure what was going to happen. and I didn't have the resources to get to be able to do the things that I used to be able to do. put me in survival mode. And especially I grew up very poor. And so I was always taught to be a survivalist. but I was also trying to push out of that. And last year or so, I decided to get out of that and get back into my. Curious face and get back out there and I think it's very, very important because this world we live in is so interesting. And there's so much more that we don't know. And despite having all this technology showing us a lot more than we would have seen in the 90s, you know, we have more access to seeing things and seeing how people think and, know, everything's a click away. mean, look, we're we're streaming from two different parts of the world right now. So I think it's important
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah
Salim Sanchez: to experience the things that we're seeing if we can. And I think right now it's a good opportunity. I'm older now. I'm going to be 48 next week or in a couple of weeks. And, and this is a different chapter in my life. And I want to experience things. knowing the things that I know now. And to see it with a lens, And I think it's very important to not lose your sense of adventure and curiosity. it's very important for me right now in my life to experience something and see the world and whatever that looks like.
Roxanne Patruznick: You've traveled a bunch in the US. You've
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm.
Roxanne Patruznick: lived a bunch of places. I'm wondering how traveling just in the US, how that's shaped you as a person.
Salim Sanchez: That's a very good question. people around the world who've never been to the U S need to realize that the U S is, is a very big place and every state is like its own country. I've gotten really good at code switching Because every part of the country has its own dialect and its own culture. And, I grew up in Louisiana, which is so Southern. it's like this Creole thing, you know, and it's not just Southern, it's Creole and Kentucky. It's not just Southern. It's it's I don't know how to explain it. It's different. so I've learned to adapt especially being from the city. I'm grateful that I've been able to move around so much. one of the things I've learned is how to adapt to different people, different kinds of people. I'm learned to, get along with everybody I also know when to look out for danger, you know? It's just helped me learn more about people, because I love people.
Roxanne Patruznick: So. you're about to travel to Europe for the first time.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Is this your first time traveling internationally?
Salim Sanchez: Yes, it is. Yes, it is. I've always wanted to do it. I've I've always been fascinated about Europe. I've always wanted to see it in person. And I have a lot of friends, including yourself, who live out there, have family out there, all over Europe. even my mom, she's traveled quite a bit. She's always told me and encouraged me. She's like, you'd be perfect. You would love it out there. she's always said, you're very worldly person anyway. So she's like, I think that would be perfect for you. And I think she's right because I do feel like it's going to reignite something in me. And once again, I love being able to experience new things and people, especially people. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: And do you have any expectations or intentions for your travel to Europe?
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, I do a little bit. I just goes back to my photography brain. I want to take a train. And I want to go through some backcountry and I just want to see the things that we don't see on television, the things we don't we don't think about the little things the little things not the big things like, oh, yeah, I'm gonna go see Paris and nothing. I want to see like the little things like going to some little neighborhood or going through some little town and just stop in for a minute and they at this at a stop and just noticing how people talk to each other or whatever and just like the little things because as American we all know the landmarks and stuff just like people in Europe what they would think America's like who never been to America. Oh yeah, you know, this is like this. And then you get here and you're like, oh, wait a minute, it's way more than I thought. Or not what I thought at all. so that's what I'm looking forward to more than anything. And like I said, go back to my photography brain. I'm I want to that's those are the things that I'm interested in seeing and through my lens and showing through my lens. I want to see going through some place with some rolling green hills or something or, you know, I'm going to be in. the Netherlands. want to see just the little canals, people just riding their bikes. I want to see the windmills, you know, I want to see these, architecture, which is something I'm very fascinated by. So that think that's the thing, you know.
Roxanne Patruznick: And do you do a bunch of research before you go like for this kind of trip or are you going to just jump right in?
Salim Sanchez: little bit of both. some things I want to surprise me. And there's other things obviously I want to kind of look into just just for, if I stop there, I want to know where I can go to get this thing or whatever. But other than that, I want to be surprised. I want to have the same feeling I had when I came to Portland. I wasn't planning on staying living in Portland when I came to visit here. And I came here to visit my bandmates and I was here on a work trip and I was not prepared for what I was going to see when I came here. cause I'd never been to Pacific Northwest prior to this. And I just remember flying in and seeing all the mountains poking through the clouds, being like, Whoa, wait a minute. I'm 30,000 feet in the air. How am I seeing this mountain right now? You know, like popping through the cloud and I was like, man, I'm in for a treat. And then landed. was just like fantasy, fairy tale land. was like, wow, this is great. The vibe, the energy, everyone was super laid back. So I'm hoping to see that when I go to Europe, I'm going to have that same kind of feeling of whimsy and like, Not just what I see, but what I'm going to feel Be it good or bad.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah. And here's just one really simple question. Why now?
Salim Sanchez: Why not, you Since feel like if I don't do this now, I may never be able to do it. I spent about six years living on my own I moved where I live now. Halloween of 2020. And shut down. There was a first time I truly, truly lived alone. Like I've always had my own place, but I always had like a roommate here and there, but I've never lived alone. And I spent so much time isolated and I had to learn how to, I had to learn who I was all by myself again. And I had moments of my ups and downs. has moments of depression and, and, and try off. And I had this moment where it's like, I'm living this life that I'm living. I don't have any children. I don't have anything holding me back. I don't have any assets. I don't own anything except for my car, I don't have any reason why I shouldn't do this, I felt at the time trapped. because of my job situation being the way it was and living this life of scarcity. Then I had a moment where I was like, you know what? Fuck it, man. We're all going to go anyway. The world's going to end either way. I need to go and see the world the way I've always wanted to see it. And by hook or crook, I'm going to make this happen. And I just had a moment where I was like, can't let my mind control my body. got to go out and remember who I used to be. And I got to take a chance. also, Very lucky and fortunate enough to have a friend over there who had already moved out there about four years prior, a very close friend. And she'd been encouraging me, like you have been encouraging me to come out there And my thing was like, hey, I just, I wish I had the money. I just don't have the money yet. I got to make sure that I can take care of my responsibilities before I can just, you know, gallivant around Europe. I just can't do that. But I was putting money away. And I had a plan. five years from now. If I could keep saving this amount of money, I'm going to be able to have the freedom to get out of here and have the option to tell my job, if I can't do this, well, I'm out. the company that I work for now bought my previous company. Which made me a little nervous, but I was able to stay on board when they bought us over and they kept all the employees. And with this particular company, they have a policy with their vacation, use it or lose it. So you have to use your vacation as opposed to the company I was before they would try to buy me out. they really discouraged their employees to take off more than a week, which is another reason why I wasn't able to take off like the amount of time I'd like to take off to go to Europe because least two weeks because you got to deal with jet lag and all that stuff. So this happened to work out with this company. was like, Hey, you got to take your vacation, you know, and, and I was like, Oh, cool. Well, all right. Well, this is what's going to happen. I'm going to take off two weeks. I had this conversation with my HR. I was like, you understand, I haven't taken a vacation over two weeks in over 20 years. And she's like, well, the reason why we recommend and tell people that you have to take your two weeks vacation because we don't want you to come and work with a shot gun because you're burnt out. So I was like, OK, well,
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: yeah, my my old boss was very discouraging of that. And that's why we had a lot of troubles in my old job, which is essentially why he sold the business. So I once again, this is all timing and it all worked out.
Roxanne Patruznick: Ahem.
Salim Sanchez: I'm. not anxious about taking time off and I feel more like, yeah, I deserve and I've earned this. I've worked so hard to get here, to be able to like have the freedom to go out and see the world again and not be trapped here and feel like I'm just a working cog in this whole machine. And if I can make it work,
Roxanne Patruznick: Europeans, I think, for the most part, and even other places around the world, I think that they don't live to work, they
Salim Sanchez: rights.
Roxanne Patruznick: work to just live and that most of the emphasis, especially in like a country like Spain and other Mediterranean parts, I mean, really all over Europe, everybody's
Salim Sanchez: Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: not killing themselves with work.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, it's kind of beautiful. Like it's all about like really enjoying your life and being
Salim Sanchez: Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: with your friends and your family and eating good food and having fun, you know, relaxing.
Salim Sanchez: Yes. And that's frowned upon here. talking to my friend who who was an expat to hear her say the things she says about just being over there. It's just so much of a vibe. it's not like they're lazy. They are hardworking people. It's just like the, the money that they pay. pays for everything. And just even talk to my friend in the Netherlands,
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, yeah.
Salim Sanchez: she's like, you know, you pay more in taxes, but you see it working around you. You see the trains working. It's clean. The medical system is not all crazy. The education, all that stuff. I'm like, yeah, they're doing fine over there.
Roxanne Patruznick: you have any concerns about traveling to Europe or internationally in general?
Salim Sanchez: yes, I do, but I've never left the country before. There's a couple of things I'm nervous about. going through the process of leaving, going through the passport process, leaving this country. There was a time where flying used to be fun and easy and now it's not, especially after 9-11. And I'm just more nervous about like the technical stuff, like where to go and like, what are they looking for? Am I going to be on some weird watch list that I didn't know I was on? You know what I mean? Like I have an Arabic first name and a Swahili middle name and a Spanish last name. You know, like, is it the real person? I am a very multicultural person and I'm a person of color and leaving the U S and then once I get to another country, I'm afraid of being hassled because of that as well. Like, I have such a weird mix of things. My history is not linear, you know what mean? It's not this monolithic thing, you know? So I'm just nervous about the technical travel passport stuff and being mixed up with something weird. but other than that, those are just anxieties. I'm sure everything will be fine. I think mainly it's just because I've never left the country before.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, I think a lot of people have like anxieties, different kinds of anxieties about, you know, they just don't know what to expect. And you can't do the first time over again, you only get one first time. And so I think where you're going, like the Netherlands, and then you were talking about maybe going to Paris, but France, that's a great first time.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: I'm wondering, is there a must see or must do in Europe or what are you the most excited about for your trip?
Salim Sanchez: Very good question. I would say. Let's see here. Well, I would love to see Paris. I would like to, you know, obviously do all the touristy stuff, but I just want to be able to like get, I don't know. I just want to be able to like get some real food, like real, real, real cheese, real butter, you know, and just be able to sit somewhere. and just eat and just listen. That's all. That's the biggest thing I'm looking forward to is sitting and listening to people talk. because, you know, I've been American for so long, all I hear is just American people talking English and that kind of stuff. I'm more excited to experience another culture. You know, and even in the Netherlands, I want to see the canals. My friend that I'm staying with, literally lives on the canal. I want to see that and Like I said, that's really, just to see big connections with people, that's the biggest thing. I want to make friends with people and be able to go to a pub and throw some darts or whatever, whatever they like to do. That's it. You know, nothing too crazy. those are the things I'm looking forward to just connections with people and Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Well, I'm, I am super excited for you. And I, had the idea of, of making this episode, having two parts, like the before part, you go on your trip. And then when you come back home to Portland, hopefully I can check back in with you and you can tell me about your trip or any insights that you have from your travels.
Salim Sanchez: yeah, I'm excited about that. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Well, awesome. I'm just going to say bye for now. And then, on the episode, it'll, jump to the future.
Salim Sanchez: Yes, yes, absolutely. Yeah, I'm looking forward to all this.
Roxanne Patruznick: Okay, bye!
Salim Sanchez: All right, thank you, bye.
Roxanne Patruznick: Welcome back from your European adventure, Celine.
Salim Sanchez: Well, thanks. Good to be back.
Roxanne Patruznick: it's like we traveled through time It's been a couple of weeks. When we last spoke, you mentioned you were looking forward to seeing like little things and nuances. And
Salim Sanchez: you
Roxanne Patruznick: I'm wondering how much of your experience fulfilled your expectations and was there anything
Salim Sanchez: OHHHH
Roxanne Patruznick: that surprised you?
Salim Sanchez: All the things, man. I was very fortunate to be in a smaller town. I was about 30 minutes outside of Amsterdam, which was like a mini Amsterdam. And what was really nice about going here was you just get to see people living their normal lives and just doing what they do. I love the fact that I was not there during tour season, it wasn't, you know, it was really just simple. And one thing I tripped out about and I didn't even think about it until I got there, it just like the sirens. Like little things like that. Oh yeah, that's right. That's right. That's right. That's how they do it here. That's what it sounds like over here, you know? I felt like I was in an alternative, alternate, alternate universe. where we have all the same things, but they're just a little different, you know? what are the things that I knew I was going to run into was like the history and go into this small little city where all the roads are small and the car is small and everyone, have to bike everywhere, which was awesome. And the, just the old architecture, you know, going back to the 1400s and even further back. I love that. And I think that was the thing that I was really looking forward to. And the thing that. that surprised me as well was just how diverse this place was. I knew there was going to be some people from other countries because everything's so close together, it was a place that was very diverse. People color everywhere, integrated with the city, and everyone just got along really well. One of the places I grew up was in a small town. So I had that kind of, that same kind of feeling where everybody kind of knew each other's business. I would say the other thing that I was kind of, looking forward to in, in was I'm a biker. I'm like a, a cyclist. So I loved how this place was engineered, where it was just bikes first and cars second. You know, it's just one lane for the cars. then the, all the, there's just the, the thought that went into just riding around and having to get around the city and town on your bike was really cool. Like how the roads were mapped out. one thing that I wasn't prepared for was like how cool the grocery stores were, you know, like it was very subtle. it was cheaper. and I liked that there wasn't a lot of like processed food at these places. So I was actually able to eat the same way I was eating. I would eat here, but I didn't feel as guilty.
Roxanne Patruznick: You
Salim Sanchez: and, like they had like the Ritos and everything. had Fanta, but it tasted a little different. you know, and it was because it wasn't all that stuff in there. Like even Arizona tea is my shh, it's one of my favorite teas to drink just when I'm out and about. They had that, but it didn't taste the same way because it wasn't all that crazy stuff in there. And I really liked that kind of thing. I don't know what it was about it, but like I just liked that and just riding around the city. in town and just going off of my little adventures and shooting here and there. it's just those little things I pick up on. just the main thing was just like the history I felt and I and being surrounded by everybody who was super nice, especially when I started speaking, because initially they think, he's African or something. And then I'd start speaking and he's English. Like, hey, like, how are you doing? Wow. Did not expect that. And Yeah, people were really welcoming and I had a really good guest. I mean, I had a good host who was an expat and she'd been there for four years. So she managed to make a lot of friends. And so I was able to like have a lot of people who kind of knew I was coming and they were really welcoming. They'd bring me gifts. would bring me like things from their culture that I was trying and food and beer and all kinds of stuff. So. Yeah, it was really awesome.
Roxanne Patruznick: So, so was there like when you first got there, was there a thing that really grabbed you? Like, was there a thing that went pow, my God, you know, like, was there an initial surprise?
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, yeah. So when I flew in, as I was flying in, it was tulip season. And the first thing I noticed when I came in was just like how colorful, I felt like I was flying into Oz in a way. Like that's what it felt like now to think about it. It felt like I was flying into Oz because it was just like, cartoonishly like just different. I'm flying in, I'm seeing just all these weird patterns, know, and that area is kind of like a marsh because it's underneath the sea level, so it's very spotty with the water and everything. So you get to see what's coming into. And that really shocked me, especially as I landed and came in and just like, wow, there are windmills everywhere. Wow, this is crazy. Just, I don't know how to explain it, but just the vibe. And obviously, I'm so used to being around people, Americans, people speak English. it's just like that, just the culture just hit me. But yeah, I would say the biggest thing would be the colors, my friend picked me up from the airport. So we were gonna drive back to this town. So it was like 30 minutes. so I would say for me, the biggest thing was just like, the colors. yeah, I just realized right away, this is the furthest away from anything I've ever been, you know, yeah, I say the biggest thing though, it be the thing that I, I kind of thought it would be, it's just like, wow, look at that windmill. Holy crap. This place is.
Roxanne Patruznick: Hahaha
Salim Sanchez: way ahead of us as far as like, you know, how to get things done,
Roxanne Patruznick: what did you think of the language? You'd probably see signs and you'd saw how things were written and then you'd hear people speak. What was your impression?
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, yeah, it was cool. I know that if I ever were to prepare myself for the language, it would take a long time because their language is very hard. And I managed to pick up a few things on the way out, but like, I thought it was really cool, especially watching the commercials. You know, it's just like, yeah, they got to say, you know, T-Mobile or whatever, but it's all in their language.
Roxanne Patruznick: You
Salim Sanchez: wow. This is cool. Like I'm sure if I stayed here for a few months or a year, I can kind of pick it up. like, yeah, it was, it was definitely cool. especially like I said, when you go to a country and English is not the first language and you get to see their culture and how they just talk and how they conduct their business. So, yeah, I thought it was pretty cool. most languages I can kind of pick up like, yeah, French, I can pick that up in my ear and we've exposed to German or Spanish, but Dutch, you don't hear Dutch just casually in America. So, so yeah, that's.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, yeah. And speaking of America, did you notice anything traveling as an American? Like, how did it feel to be an American in Europe?
Salim Sanchez: if it didn't feel as bad as I thought it was going to feel, and you know, what's really crazy. You've had a lot of people that I talked to who, you know, who felt, you know, Noah's America and everything. And I had a few people pull me inside and I was a little relieved to know that everybody that I spoke to weren't like, what the fuck, you know, it's just like, Hey
Roxanne Patruznick: Ha
Salim Sanchez: dude, we are, we totally understand. We understand, man. We, we, see what's going on. and they kind of get it, you know, and I had somebody pull me aside and ask me a few questions about like, did you vote for that guy, blah, blah, what's going on? And I had to remind them, say, you got to remember our country is only 250 years old. Okay. We're, still like in primary school. We, you can tell by how we act. We're still kind of like, we're very young and you know, Europe is way older and I'm sure you guys are still going through these things and but I'm sure 250 years of whatever your country was you had your own kind of thing. You know, we just live in a time when we have more technology and you could see everything and you think we'd be no better having what we have. But it doesn't matter. We're still going to be we're still going to be who we are. That's why we have laws and stuff. So but yeah, I had a pretty good pretty good I didn't threatened or anything. And I didn't feel as embarrassed as I thought I would, because I didn't realize how much they look up to Americans, at least how much they like Americans, at least the people that I saw and hung out with. My friend invited me to a few barbecues and stuff while we were there. so I was able to talk to certain people who knew I was coming in from all over the world, really. And they all seemed pretty cool. They all had questions, which was really cool. They're very curious. So I thought it was really nice. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: That's great.
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm.
Roxanne Patruznick: so another question I wanted to ask is, how it's been since you've returned home, integrating from Europe back to the US, and if you've had any takeaways or realizations from your experience.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, my integration, will say for the first few days was, oh, even just flying back, even when I knew I was coming back and I got my layover in Seattle, that anxiety started ramping up again a little bit because, you know, things are a lot more expensive here. Things are just a little bit like, for instance, like over there, they don't waste like we waste here. for instance, going to the grocery store and getting a bottle of Coke or something, they have a little, you can't take the lids off because they don't want you to throw it away. you know, little things, they, they keep it simple. And here, one of the things that really got me upset was just like coming back and realize how much garbage we waste and how much we we rip each other off. know, I'm at a point in my life where if I'm going to pay more, the quality needs to be there, you know? And I noticed that when I came back, I was just like, oh, I feel like this is just a big grift, you know, sometimes. I understand that this country is a machine. And I felt like I was just going back into the machine to keep it moving. I had a conversation with somebody out there and I was like, you got to understand this country, America, we produce weapons and consumers, you know, and while we work so hard here and we don't have the kind of holidays that you have, know, people are there, they work and they live their life. We have to work to have a life. And I started feeling that when I came back And so that, that anger and that angst, that bitterness started coming back a little bit, but then I had to realize like everybody all over the world is dealing with what we're dealing with. It's just a different flavor, and I have to remember like, I was very fortunate and privileged enough to go out and see America from afar and to see the world. Not a lot of people will be able to have the opportunity that I have. So I had to be humble and grateful and I had to let all that angst and bitterness go and just be grateful and remember that there are people in the world who have it way worse than we do. and these kinds of things that I feel come and go. And this is You know, we live in a
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: time where I can, you anybody could just fly over the world, go somewhere else.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, and you know what's interesting? only in Europe for a short period of time, and it sounds like you were around a lot of people from the Netherlands. You're around people from there. And what's funny is like, being critical of where we're from is kind of easy. Like I'm totally, I'm always bagging on the
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm.
Roxanne Patruznick: US and of course, you know, the political
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm.
Roxanne Patruznick: situation there. But what's interesting, what you just were talking about is people, you said that people that you met looked up to Americans and
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm.
Roxanne Patruznick: how was that point of view? How was it to see, you know, the US from, through the eyes of Europeans that actually like Americans or see the good? did that give you anything, I guess?
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, it made me realize when I had these conversations, people, would tell me, yeah, we had, we have the same kind of thing. We had this guy who tried to do this and we have these people who try to do this and corruption is everywhere. And, and one of the things that really gave me comfort was like, they know that this whole thing. was kind of manufactured and I've been saying this I feel like a conspiracy theory guy but it's like there I have told people where we are right now is a symptom of something bigger and people understand that we are in a time where you know we've been kind of played a little bit emotionally. I had to remind people, it's not the fear of the powers coming and just taking our rights. No, it's us just being fooled to give people our rights and our consent you know, based on our fear. I mean, you think about last 10 years, like we've been arguing about stuff that we all agree on. And I've been distracted It took a good amount of time to get us to where we are. And then you got to think about what happened even before the 10 years to get us here. And I had a friend bring her daughter over. She was nine years old and she came over. wanted to come and meet me and she had questions just like you. And I had to let her know, like, because she was just like, what is it like being an African American and da, da, da, and like, where do you live, you know, blah, blah, blah. She's asked me really cool questions. And she was asking me the same kind of question you were asking me. And I had to basically give her the same answers. they feed on fear and anger. There is a line that you get to where you have to kind of say, OK, I'm getting too worked up. What's really going on here? And one thing that I reminded her is there's nothing wrong with being angry. But if you become bitter, that's when you lose. And you don't want to hear anything. You don't want hear anybody's
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: answer. Then you start forming your own echo chamber. You don't want learn. And that's kind of what has happened with the divide in this country is they've gotten a lot of people so worked up. to the point we don't even want to like get together and be like, hey, this is not good for anybody we do this thing now where we're othering people. So we don't want to even want to hear them. And I had to tell her that it's like, there's nothing wrong with being angry, but you got to use that anger for good. You got to that will motivate you. But if you get so caught up in your own personal anger, then you're not going to want to listen to anybody. like I said, I had a lot of people asking about what's going on here because This is something that's unprecedented in, and
Roxanne Patruznick: Mm-hmm.
Salim Sanchez: everyone is suffering from it, not just Americans, but people all over the world. This is bad for everybody. And It's going to take decades to repair. Yeah. mean, that's
Roxanne Patruznick: It has an impact. The US actually, when I first went to Spain, I met up with some expats there. And one of the women that I am still friends with, she said that, whatever is happening in the US, it affects the whole rest of the world. And that kind of,
Salim Sanchez: yes it does.
Roxanne Patruznick: like, I think I never understood until someone from another country told that to me.
Salim Sanchez: Hell yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: I got it differently not being in the US too, when you're surrounded by people that aren't Americans and you're having
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm.
Roxanne Patruznick: conversations. I think that's really eye-opening. But okay,
Salim Sanchez: Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: I wanna ask Do you have any future travel plans?
Salim Sanchez: Oh, I so I told myself I'm gonna try to do this every year. Um, because this happens right around my birthday. And I also, when I got there is their king's birthday, Koningstock. And he shut the city down for two days, everyone's wearing orange, and they're just drinking in the streets and celebrating. DJs playing, dancing, I did all that, which was awesome. And like, I'm gonna try to do this every year if I can come out here. And it's not that hard to get here from Portland because you could fly straight to Amstrad from Portland, which is perfect for sometimes under a thousand dollars round trip. So, so yeah, I plan on coming back and next time I didn't have time this time, but I was going to try to go to Paris, France, and I got friends in Spain. I really want to make my way up to Scotland. I want to go up to Dublin. I want to do a lot of things now that I got the bug back. and I have a plan, you know, and I have money put away and now I want to try to do this as much as I can. So yeah, every year around this time in my birthday, because it's not tourist season, which is also important for me. I think that it'll be really nice to have something to look forward to, which is something that I had been lacking for the last few years is something to look forward to. You get caught up in your old routine, work, come home. For me, I figure why not? I don't have anything holding me back. And now that I know, got a little taste and I know it's easier than I thought, I'm going to try to do as much as I can. So yeah, yeah, I do have plans coming back and you know, now I can go anywhere. Like I also been wanting to go to Japan. And I was just like, wait a minute, I can actually go to Japan if I wanted to. Holy crap. Like, yeah, I can go anywhere. I just kind of need to have the time
Roxanne Patruznick: You
Salim Sanchez: and money. So yeah, I plan on doing it. And hopefully I'll come out and see you guys wherever you're going to be.
Roxanne Patruznick: Definitely. It's so interesting because the first time you kind of crack that seal on going to Europe, traveling internationally, it just opens the floodgates. You realize there's no limit. You can really go anywhere. Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, yeah, if you plan it right and get the jet lag thing down, you know, which was a thing for me the first few days, I was fighting for my life trying to stay awake. But I, I managed to get over that. And it was so where all that was totally worth it just being away from here for a minute and the furthest I'd ever been away from home and I'm a geography nerd too, so just like the fact that I was flying over Canada and over Greenland and Iceland and I was just like, oh wow, this is cool. I was taking so many pictures, geeking out. I had a bit of an emotional moment there too on the plane by my, well, I sit next to somebody who happened to be pretty cool, but like I was trying to keep it all in, but like it was pretty, it was a big deal for me.
Roxanne Patruznick: That's really awesome. Yeah.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, I really, really, really liked it. And I was surprised also a little side note, I was surprised at how good the airplane food was. The meals were I went through Delta. Yeah,
Roxanne Patruznick: What airline did you drive? Delta, okay, yeah.
Salim Sanchez: it was pretty good. I was like, Oh, wow, this is actually this makes me feel like I was three 911 flying or something like, well, that's hot food and it's free. And wow, my
Roxanne Patruznick: You
Salim Sanchez: seat is actually big enough for a regular human being. Okay, so yeah, it was good.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, I feel like this is like an ad. They should like give me some money. But okay, so I have
Salim Sanchez: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: one last question. Do you have anything, any creative plans? Maybe something sparked
Salim Sanchez: Yeah
Roxanne Patruznick: on your travels creatively?
Salim Sanchez: A little bit. took some really, so I took a few pictures and somebody was like, you should do postcards. I was like, oh yeah, I should think about that. my shots are from my travels and I, I'd like to be able to share my experience in a way. like, I'm not trying to get rich or anything, but it just like, it inspired me as I'm taking pictures wherever I go. it really like reinvigorated my love for photography. and I figured like, if I do postcards just for my friends, you know, I'll probably start doing that, but yeah, photography. is something that got reinvigorated and I want to try to like incorporate that more with my travels I feel like with my perspective, I think I might be able to like do something with that. I'm still trying to figure it out, but yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah,
Salim Sanchez: You
Roxanne Patruznick: your work is really beautiful. And I have a couple of ideas we could talk about later if you want.
Salim Sanchez: I appreciate it. Yeah. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Yeah, definitely. Some things that would be good. I just want to thank you again for doing this with me. You're so awesome. You're a dear friend.
Salim Sanchez: yeah, thank you. Thank you. Yeah, same here.
Roxanne Patruznick: And also, I just want to know where people can find your photography and listen to your music. you have any links or any.
Salim Sanchez: Yeah, you can go to my website. If you want to see my photography at salim sanchez.com. Pretty simple. you can see a lot of my stuff. will be posting photos of my trip in my travel folder. if you want to hear my music, I'm on Spotify with my band. We're called cicada omega. That's C I C A D A omega and or Cosmic Butter is another one. do funk, funk soul, 80s funk soul. then, Cicada Omega is more like a hillbilly soul blues rock band. So you can find both of those on Spotify. And, but yeah, that's what I have right now. as far as my... my website and everything. all of my, my work is on there And it has all my different kinds of things that I shoot So that's where you can find me. SalimSanchez.com. Yeah.
Roxanne Patruznick: Excellent. So folks, if you enjoyed this podcast and would like to hear others, please head over to my website, travelcreaterepeat.com and subscribe to my emails. There you can also read my travel blog as well as see my art shop. You can also support me on Patreon and you can find Travel Create Repeat on Patreon. Thanks again for listening. Happy travels and creativity and I'll see you on the next episode. Bye!
Salim Sanchez: Hey!
