A couple of questions about the following lines from a Chinese blog
I am currently translating a famous blog from Chinese to English and I have a couple of questions.

1: 休假很快就要结束，据说北京已经很冷，妈妈给我发来牛牛小朋友的的照片，还有我的小猫们，想，你，们，了！！！

Is 牛牛 the name of the baby in the photo? If so is it more likely to be a boy or a girl. It seems a bit of a strange name as the only meaning I know for 牛 is cow or cattle. Is it a nickname? Does 牛 have another meaning?

2: 久违了的悠长假期，是否真的可以改变一个人。

I am a little confused by this line and the use of 久违. I looked up 久违 and it appears to mean 'a long time since we met' and is used like 好久不见. The best translation I could think of is something like 'can not having a long holiday for a long time change someone? Is this right? Please can you explain this sentence a bit more please. Furthermore, what is the difference between saying 好久不见了 and久违了 to someone?

Question

A couple of questions about the following lines from a Chinese blog
I am currently translating a famous blog from Chinese to English and I have a couple of questions.

1: 休假很快就要结束，据说北京已经很冷，妈妈给我发来牛牛小朋友的的照片，还有我的小猫们，想，你，们，了！！！

Is 牛牛 the name of the baby in the photo? If so is it more likely to be a boy or a girl.  It seems a bit of a strange name as the only meaning I know for 牛 is cow or cattle. Is it a nickname? Does 牛 have another meaning?

2: 久违了的悠长假期，是否真的可以改变一个人。

I am a little confused by this line and the use of 久违. I looked up  久违 and it appears to mean 'a long time since we met' and is used like 好久不见. The best translation I could think of is something like 'can not having a long holiday for a long time change someone? Is this right? Please can you explain this sentence a bit more please. Furthermore, what is the difference between saying 好久不见了 and久违了 to someone?

Answer

1.牛牛 is a nickname here. Most kids have intimate nicknames in China. 牛 also means great or wonderful. Such as，the meaning of 牛人 is great people( big fish).
2.久违了。We generally do not say so. It is a old fashioned expression for long time no see.  好久不见了 is normal expression.
久违了的悠长假期，是否真的可以改变一个人。
This sentence ends with a period. So I think it means: One person maybe really changed through the long-lost vacation.

Could you answer me a question?
Does the scientific research ship have a short expression? Expedition Boat?

Answer

1. Probably a boy. It's hard to imagine a girl being called a 牛 of anything.

2. 久违了的悠长假期，是否真的可以改变一个人。
等了好久终于得到的悠长假期，是否真的可以改变一个人。
I wonder if an extended long-awaited vacation could really change a person.

ps: I'm not a native Mandarin speaker, just been around the language for too long.

Answer

牛牛 is commonly baby's nickname in China.

Answer

#2 is a poetic form of saying, "The long meandering separation in a vacation.  Wouldst it be long enough a time in changing a person?"