Cool Italian professor | 这个意大利教授有点酷

　　Today let's get to know a trendy and cool professor — Sara Platto. Platto is from Italy and is now an associate professor in the School of Life Sciences at Jianghan University. Her research interests are ethology and animal welfare. In her ten years' living in Wuhan, she has organized activities to vaccinate cats and dogs for free, and she has adopted three cats. She and her son chose to stay in Wuhan during the pandemic in 2020. Let's take a look at Sara's "Wuhan story."

　　今天我们要介绍一位又潮又酷的教授——萨拉·普拉托（Sara Platto）。萨拉来自意大利，现在是江汉大学生命科学学院副教授，主要研究方向是动物行为学与动物福利。在武汉生活的十年里，她策划活动为猫狗免费注册疫苗，还收养了三只猫。2020年疫情期间，她和儿子选择留在武汉。下面让我们一起来看看萨拉的“武汉故事”。

　　Platto and her book "Morning Wuhan" which records the lives of her and her son during the quarantine in 2020

　　Recently, Platto sent this message to our reporter via WeChat. "I've just published a paper on animal research, and I have two more in the works."

　　“最近，我刚发表了1篇有关动物研究的论文，还有两篇论文正在撰写。”最近，萨拉在微信上给记者发来这段话。

　　She has been engaged in animal research for more than 20 years, and as a doctoral candidate, she studied dolphin behavior. After graduation, Platto worked in wildlife behavior research and animal rescue in Spain, the U.S., and Canada. After moving to China 15 years ago, she first worked on dolphin sonar in Tianjin and she even gave herself the Chinese name "Hailong" which means "sea dragon," also a sea animal.

　　她已从事动物研究20余年。读博期间，主要研究海豚行为。毕业后，萨拉曾在西班牙、美国、加拿大从事野生动物行为研究与动物救助工作。15年前来到中国后，她曾在天津从事海豚声呐研究工作，还给自己起了个中文名字“海龙”，也是一种海洋动物。

　　Because of her work, Platto communicated extensively with the Institute of Hydrology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 2012, she decided to come to live and work in Wuhan.

　　因为工作原因，萨拉经常联系中科院水生所。2012年，她决定来武汉工作生活。

　　Platto (left in the front) in public welfare activity on World Rabies Day

　　In 2017, Platto contacted the Wuhan Small Animal Protection Association and other organizations to organize a public welfare activity on World Rabies Day. Together they vaccinated nearly 1,000 dogs and cats for free. The event was held for three years. "I hope that through unremitting efforts, more people in Wuhan will know what rabies is, how to prevent it, and how to live peacefully with animals," she said, adding that her dream was to make Wuhan an "animal-friendly city."

　　2017年，萨拉联系武汉市小动物保护协会等机构，在世界狂犬病日当天组织公益宣导活动，为近千只猫狗免费注射疫苗。该活动持续举办了三次。她说：“我希望通过不懈努力，能让更多武汉人了解有关狂犬病的知识，知道如何预防，如何与动物和平相处。我的理想是，让武汉成为‘动物友好城市’！”

　　Platto's hometown is Brescia, a city in northern Italy. In early 2020, Platto and her son Matteo Ricci decided to remain in Wuhan after the COVID-19 outbreak. She contacted an Italian virologist for a risk assessment. After careful consideration, she decided it was safer to stay at home and not go anywhere.

　　萨拉的家乡在意大利北部城市布雷西亚。2020年初，出现新冠疫情后，萨拉和儿子利玛窦决定留在武汉。她联系上一位意大利病毒学家做风险评估。综合考虑之后，她认为，待在家里哪儿也不去更安全。

　　During the period, Platto kept updating blogs about her life in Wuhan on overseas social media platforms, sharing videos of the wide variety of food in supermarkets and photos of food sent by residents in the community. She received interviews with many foreign media to introduce the real situation of Wuhan to the world.

　　期间，萨拉在海外社交平台上不断更新自己在武汉的生活，拍下超市食物琳琅满目的视频，以及小区居民送来的食物照片。她先后被多家国外媒体采访，向世界介绍武汉的真实状况。

　　A year later, Platto spent a special Spring Festival in Wuhan, having a family dinner with some construction workers of Huoshenshan Hospital (a makeshift hospital built in days to treat COVID-19 patients) and delivery-riders who were involved in fighting the epidemic. She even played mahjong with a French doctor who also stayed in Wuhan to help others.

　　一年后，萨拉过了一个特别的春节，和参与抗击疫情的火神山建筑工人、快递小哥吃了团年饭，还和同样留在武汉帮助他人的法国医生打了麻将。

　　She also threw a big birthday party for her son Matteo because the one scheduled for early 2020 was delayed.

　　她还给儿子补办了一场盛大的生日派对，因为2020年初本来要举办的那场被耽搁了。

　　Not long before National Day last year, a piece of good news came stating that Platto had won the "Friendship Award of the Chinese Government." She attended the award ceremony in Beijing and met some of the top leaders of the country. It is widely recognized that the award is the highest honorary award established to recognize foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to China's modernization.

　　去年国庆节前夕，萨拉传来一个好消息：她获得了“中国政府友谊奖”，在北京参加了颁奖仪式，还见到了国家最高领导人。据悉，中国政府友谊奖是为表彰在中国现代化建设中作出突出贡献的外国专家而设立的最高荣誉奖项。

　　Platto believes the award is the highest recognition of her years of work in China.

　　萨拉认为，这个奖项是对她这些年工作的最大肯定。

　　Platto's apartment at Zhuankou has a strong and cozy European style. The coffee maker on the table, the cat toys on the wall, the sofa in the living room, and the various ceramic cups hanging in the kitchen... almost all the items in her home came from Taobao. Platto knows about the price and features of each item. "My friends call me the Queen of Taobao," she said proudly, "and they often consult me about shopping on Taobao."

　　踏进她在沌口租住的家中，就感受到浓郁而温馨的欧洲风情。桌上的咖啡机、墙上的猫玩具、客厅的沙发，还有厨房里挂着的各式各样陶瓷杯……家中的物品几乎全部来自淘宝。萨拉能滔滔不绝得介绍出每一件物品的网购价格和功能。她对此颇为得意：“朋友们都称我‘淘宝女王’。她们经常向我咨询淘宝购物的事呢。”

　　The decorative cabinets in the living room are filled with objects that seem to epitomize Platto's 10 years in Wuhan — newspapers with stories about her carefully framed; the certificate of the "Friendship Award of the Chinese Government" has been put in a box. The cabinet is lined with photos, including one of Matteo as a child taking part in a Christmas choir. "He was about six or seven years old, just a little kid at that time." Matteo moved to Wuhan with her when he was only four years old. Now he is 14. "As you can imagine, after he grew up in Wuhan, he always says he never wants to leave Wuhan." Matteo now attends an international school and has many local friends.

　　客厅的装饰柜上摆着许多物品，仿佛是萨拉在武汉十年生活的缩影——有关她的中英文报道，被精心装裱起来；“中国政府友谊奖”的获奖证书收纳在盒子里。柜子摆了好些照片，其中一张是利玛窦小时候参加圣诞唱诗活动的照片。“他那时大概6、7岁，还是小孩子的模样。”萨拉感慨道，利玛窦跟着她搬来武汉时才4岁，转眼就14岁了。“所以你可以想象，他成长的绝大部分时间在武汉。他常说永远不想离开武汉。”利玛窦现在就读于国际学校，有许多本地朋友。

　　Platto said that during her 10 years in Wuhan, she has witnessed the city's continuous development, which has made her feel comfortable living here.

　　萨拉说，在武汉这十年，她见证城市不断向好的方向发展，这一切都让她觉得在这里的生活很舒适。

　　(Edited by Ye Shiyu)