Un Noël inoubliable pour deux soeurs séparées par l'adoption

Deux sœurs, Angela Mardock, 18 ans, de Springville, États-Unis et Adi Calvert, 20 ans, de l'Angleterre, se sont rencontrées lundi pour la première fois et passent la saison de Noël ensemble, avant de retourner à leurs vies séparées

Nées en Roumanie de la même mère, les deux sœurs ont été adoptées par des familles différentes de différents pays.

Lorsque les Mardock étaient en train d'adopter Angela, ils avaient appris qu'il y avait une faible possibilité qu'ils pourraient également adopter sa sœur qui avait deux ans à l'époque. Mais par la suite, ils ont appris qu'elle était en train de se faire adopter par un couple en Angleterre.

Ces deux filles ont toujours su qu'il y avait une sœur quelque part mais elles ne savaient pas où. Ensuite, lors d'un voyage en Roumanie il y a huit ans, Bob Mardock a reçu une piste qui l'a aidé à retracer Calvert. Et pendant les huit dernières années, les deux jeunes filles parlaient au téléphone et via l'internet.

Détails dans la version originale suivante, parue dans Recordonline, le 24 décembre 2008.

Across the universe — and into each other's lives

Sisters: Adopted by separate families, meet

By ESTHER AVILA

THE PORTERVILLE RECORDER

Two sisters are having a Christmas they will never forget.

The two sisters, Angela Mardock, 18, of Springville and Adi Calvert, 20, of England, were adopted by different families in different countries 18 years ago. They met Monday for the first time and are spending the Christmas season together before they have to return to their separate lives.

Calvert arrived at Los Angeles International Airport at 5:30 p.m. Monday and was met by the Mardock family.

“It was so surreal. We were so nervous,” Angela Mardock said. “I saw her and we hugged. It was a surreal moment.”

Born in Romania to the same mother, the two sisters were adopted by separate families.

“When we were adopting Angela, we learned that there was a remote possibility that we might also be able to adopt her sister, who was 2-years-old at the time,” Bob Mardock said. “But then we learned that she was already in the process of getting adopted by a couple in England.”

Both girls always knew there was a sister out there somewhere — they just didn’t know where. Then eight years ago, during a trip to Romania, Bob Mardock received a lead that helped him track Calvert down.

“I got some information, including an address and name of adoptive parents,” Bob Mardock said. “I called my wife in the States and within 30 minutes of returning to my hotel, my wife had found the family and made contact with them.”

And for the past eight years, the two girls have been talking by telephone and via the internet.

“The first time they talked, Adie was 11 years old and had the cutest accent,” said Carol Mardock, Angela’s mother. “She sounded like the little girl from ‘The Parent Trap.’”

Angela Mardock said she could not understand a single thing her sister was saying.

“It was funny, I really couldn’t understand her. I had to turn the phone over to my mom,” Angela Mardock said.

On Tuesday, the two girls, who appear to have the same eyes and smile, shopped together and stopped at Starbucks to enjoy a drink before returning to Springville.

or the next two weeks, the two will be inseparable, they said, as they learn more about each other and enjoy a few American traditions and California adventures — Disneyland, the beach, and San Francisco.

“I’m very excited about meeting my sister but also excited about this trip. I want to eat American food and drink root beer,” Calvert said. “We’ll be going to Disneyland. I can’t wait. That is every kid’s dream in England — to come to the United States and go to Disneyland.”

-- Contact Esther Avila at 784-5000, Ext. 1047, or eavila@portervillerecorder.com.