While most families escape to the beach for vacation season, Molly Griffin, ?09, along with her parents, Doris and Doug, flew to China, Oct. 23-Nov. 7.

The Griffin family traveled nearly 8,000 miles and over 30 hours to adopt a young Chinese girl: 2-year-old Paige.

“Our trip to China was fun, but very long,? Molly said. “We were there for 16 days, and found time to visit Beijing, Guangzho and Lanzhou, which is where we got Paige. On the second day, we went to the Great Wall and coincidently met someone from Fresno who recognized my dad?s Fresno State sweatshirt.?

According to People’s Daily Online, more western families adopt Chinese children legally since China issued the “Law of Adoption” in 1992.

The article, “Foreign parents for Chinese children,” quoted a foreign mother saying, “It’s better to love an existing child who longs for a family than to add another child to the world.”

Throughout their trip, the Griffins learned about the Chinese culture. While they read and studied information on rickshaws to tea houses, the gap between the two cultures seemed to diminish.

Along with a trip to Tiananmen Square, the itinerary included a visit to the Imperial Palace and a building for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

“Going to the tea house in Lanzhou was my favorite part of our trip,” Molly said. “The woman there made tea right in front of us and explained every step. I usually don’t care for tea, but I really enjoyed her concoctions.”

Besides being a blonde Californian, Griffin found the cuisine variation the most difficult adjustment.

“All of the hotels had ‘Western’ restaurants,” Molly said, “but it was Chinese style, so it was still different. I felt like an outsider. Being the only blonde within a 100-mile radius made me stick out, while everyone else had black hair. But once we had Paige, people looked at us differently.”

Doris and Doug Griffin began discussing adoption roughly 10 years ago, but decided to start the process once their oldest son, Joe, (20) moved out.

“Seven years ago at Spirit West Coast, we saw Steven Curtis Chapman perform and he showed a video about his adoption of Shaohannah,” Doris said. “The video touched our hearts and the idea of adoption crossed our minds, but Doug and I never thought the idea would become a reality. But after a couple of years and lots of prayer, we realized this was something that God had put on our hearts and we were called to do.”

Political tension worried the family as their departure could potentially be postponed. However, once they arrived in China, their worries faded.

?The traffic over there is horrible,” Molly said. “There are a million more cars, and pedestrians never have the right of way. But we had fun getting around on a rickshaw. Also, there aren?t any neighborhoods. We found that up to four families live in one, large housing area.?

Now Paige has been in the Griffins’ life for almost four months and speaks more English each day. During finals week, she advanced to turning on Molly’s stereo and demanding that she and her sister dance, despite Molly’s desire to use free time for studying.

“Paige can get pretty annoying sometimes,” said Molly, “but I think that’d be the case with any two-year-old.”

According to Molly, Paige has adapted to her new life very well. But for Molly, who has always been the baby in the family, the change has been huge. The 14-year age difference plays a big part because sometimes she feels that her job is babysitting rather than looking after a sibling.

“Often, people stare at us oddly because they see the physical differences between Paige and I,” Molly said. “One time at church I told a young girl that Paige was my sister, and that surprised her.”

When they first got Paige, the Griffins decided to tour the orphanage that she had grown up in. Paige had a really hard time, and wanted nothing to do with her nanny who had raised her for two years.

“When I get older I would love to take another trip to China with my little sister,” said Molly. “I want her to see and experience her culture. I know my mom wants her to keep her Chinese language because she talks a lot in Chinese. I hope she learns about her culture as she gets older and knows the history of where she comes from, like I do.”

Within the last five years, over 100,000 Chinese infants have been adopted by American families. Melissa Lichti, ’09, has two younger, adopted sisters from China, Emily Su Yang, 7, and Callie Jiao Ting, 5.

“In 2004 and 2005, we went to Beijing, Kunming and Guanzhou to adopt my sisters who are both special needs,” Lichti said. “They are both missing their right hands. I thought it would be like having strangers living at home, but now they are as much a part of our family as my biological siblings.”