the opposite of schadenfreude

What is the opposite of schadenfreude?

Someone recently played me a song about schadenfreude from Avenue Q. (Where has that been all my life? I wonder...) I appreciate schadenfreude, which I associate for some reason with Nietzsche.

But what is its opposite?

I attended a seminar at UB yesterday given by a senior sociologist, Professor W. I had been told about her work at a braai on Sunday, so I already knew the punch-line, but I found the talk interesting nonetheless. During the post-talk schmoozing, I walked over to where Prof W was standing -- not to talk to Prof W, with whom I had interacted during the talk itself, but because I had been trying to meet the person with whom Prof W was speaking. Mis-reading my intent, Ms Q introduced me to Prof W, noting that I was working on a degree in my particular discipline at my particular institution.

Prof W: [Discipline]! [Institution]! Oh my, [turning to Ms Q, who was arranging Prof W's appointments] that's the best [discipline] programme.

Ms Q: [looking just slightly put-out] It's the best for Botswana.

[Others assembled also look slightly put-out]

I am probably vastly overdrawing the interaction. But when you consider that in this particular social field, I rank very low (if not considered an outright nuisance), it certainly has an edge of comedy. I am lunching on Thursday with Prof W and an acquaintance who is the country director of an NGO here, and I have a strong suspicion that there may be more of this opposite-of-schadenfreude in store for me.