They talked easily about books and politics and life in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mrs. Nichols wondered if her new acquaintance spelled her first name the same way as the novelist Jessamyn West, and was delighted to learn that she'd actually been named in her honor. They agreed to meet every few weeks, "just to have a cup of tea and talk," Mrs. Nichols said.
Such a small thing. Or maybe not so small. Ms. Conell-Price, 26, is a first-year student in the University of California, Berkeley — University of California, San Francisco Joint Medical Program. Like many young people in an age-segregated culture, she barely knows anyone older than 60 except her own grandparents.
Mrs. Nichols, who's 89 and a longtime resident of Piedmont Gardens, a retirement community in Oakland, Calif., describes herself as a fan of inclusion. "I really like knowing and being friends with people of all ages," she told me. So she had signed on for the elder-mentor program offered by the universities, which matches new medical students with independent seniors.
By the end of the three-year program, involving 16 incoming students each year, "they will have some insight into what it's like growing old," Mrs. Nichols said. "I think that will be very useful to them."
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http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/empathy-101/?ref=health
