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Dateline: May 3

Dateline features "My 93 Year-Old Flat Mate," where Dutch students live side by side with the elderly.

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Who needs the Odd Couple?

Tonight Dateline features “My 93 Year-Old Flat Mate,” a look at a Dutch retirement home that has students living rent-free, but bringing another world unto the elderly.

Drinking games, sex talk and jigsaws – this is the life in a unique Dutch retirement home. Young and old living side-by-side sharing the joys of life, and the sadness of death, together.

Humanitas is an aged-care home based in the Netherlands that has adopted a new way of living for young and old. The successful “resident-student” program, established in December 2012, sees six students living amongst 160 elderly. The students live there rent-free in return for keeping the older residents company.

The young people bring the outside world into the aged care home by talking about their busy social lives, relationships, parties, exams and yes, even stories about random hook ups! Some of the residents have learnt the art of beer-pong and graffiti thanks to their new housemates.

84-year-old Annie Middleburg tells Dateline: “Last week the game with the balls was so much fun. I don’t know if you ever tried it. Ten cups on one side, Ten cups on the other side which they fill half with beer and then with a white ping-pong ball you have to try to throw the ball in the beer and then you have to drink it.”

The student’s romantic lives are also a hot topic around the home. When talking about one student resident, Mrs Middleburg shares: “We always ask him how it’s going. He is very romantic. Oh my – he spreads little hearts on the bed if he brings his girlfriend home. And we laugh about this. Yes, he is very romantic.”

Tuesday, 3 May at 9.30pm on SBS.

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