Amilkal Polanco
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Born: Dominican Republic
Currently resides: New York City
Volunteer: 3 months
"I've been learning a lot from being here, and my life has changed a lot." |
Why did you get involved at GMHC?
I decided to come here because my boyfriend and I used to come here to take the HIV test. One
day, we were looking at the Web page, and he said, 'Oh, you should go and find out if we can
volunteer there, since we go there.' And that's how I got to Proyecto P.A.P.I.
What were your experiences like when you came here for testing?
My mom always taught me, since I was a little kid, to protect myself. She was like, 'Here is a
condom. Here's how you use it.' So my mom, even before I came from the Dominican
Republic, she taught me how to use condoms. My mom always taught me, when you start being
active sexually, it's good to be tested at least every three months. When I got my HIV test, I
would show it to my mom and say, 'Look, mom, I'm negative.' When I was single, I used to go
every three months. Now I go less, because I have a partner, and we're going to have almost
four years together. Now we come together to take the HIV test.
I think the tests here are good. I feel comfortable with the place, because if I didn't feel
comfortable, I wouldn't be coming.
Do you get counseling in English or Spanish?
I could get it in both, but since my boyfriend is Anglo, I'm now getting the information in
English. Sometimes, when I used to come by myself, I used to get it in Spanish. I can speak
both, but since Spanish is my natural language, I feel more comfortable with it.
What has your volunteer experience been like?
I've learned a lot from the program. You learn so much. I've been learning
a lot from being here, and my life has changed a lot. I learned
more about AIDS, stuff that I didn't know. From the meetings, when
were talking about homosexuality in Cuba, religion and gay people,
we were talking about all that. I value it so much. There are a
lot of people outside who don't know about HIV, who don't know that
it's still there, or they don't get the right information. They're
just, 'OK, that was in the past, we can contain it, we don't have
it right now.' They just don't have the right information. You have
to take it seriously. You've got to protect yourself when you're
intimate with somebody, and some people don’t think about it. They
just do it. So I like it, especially because I'm Latin, and we can
help Latin people, to open their minds, or remind them that AIDS
is still there, to be careful whatever you do, and whatever you
do, do it safely.
What do you think people who are just coming from the Dominican Republic or from
another country need to know, either about AIDS, or about gay life in New York?
A couple of things. Well, what happens when you're talking about my country, like a lot of
Latin America, is that people are not talking about it. You're gay, but you're not talking about it.
Some people come from the D.R., and for example, there are a lot of gay people, but they're
what's called bugarrónes. They're gay, but they're in the closet at the same time.
I always taught my friends, 'Are you guys protecting yourselves?' We owe that to each other,
because even with my partner, I was protecting myself. Sometimes, my single friends see me
and they tell me, 'Ooh, I found this guy' — but it gets to a point: do you protect yourself? I've
got a lot of friends who know that I work here and they say, 'Do you have condoms for me?' I
feel good for that. Taking those condoms, that's good for me too, but taking those condoms and
giving to them is good, because I know I’ve done my part. If they don't want to use them, it's
their problem; at least I did my part.
Why do you think it's important for young people to be involved in HIV prevention?
So they can learn. So they can learn at an early age about AIDS, about how to prevent it, before
it's too late. That's why I'd tell people who are young to come over here. I'm 23 years old. I
have friends who say, 'Where are you going?' 'GMHC.' 'What is that?' I'm like, 'Hello!'
Some people who are my age, they're just going to parties; they go clubbing. And that's their
life. Going out to the club, taking a guy home, and that’s it. There's so much life outside of the
club. You can be involved.
What do you do with your spare time?
When I'm not volunteering, well, first of all I go to the gym. And when I'm not volunteering, I
like to go out with my partner. We'll go to a movie, or we'll go to dinner. Because my family
lives in New Jersey, we go to visit my family. And sometimes we go on trips to visit his family.
September 29, 2003
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