How tall is the Ivy tower?

"So how did it go, Mbak?" asked this girl. "Sorry, Eli and I had to go early".

"I know. Eli had told me you guys have class at six, right?"

"True true true. So?"

"Well...," I hesitated for a few seconds. "I'm kinda disappointed, actually. You see, last week the Ambassador and I had an extensive discussion with a group of high school students, in a small town of North Carolina. When I say 'small', I mean small. One hundred and fifty thousand people in habitant. They fired us with brilliant questions, all with sufficient knowledge of Indonesia. Indeed, they are Advanced Program students. But still..." *sighs*

*Chuckles* "Georgetown sucks. Don't you know that?"

"Ha! You should tell me more, girl!"

"You know what it is. Unimportant questions, sugar-coated with sophisticated vocabularies. They are incessantly depressing." (I remember Eli commented that the girl, while being among the smartest people in the program, is often very quiet.)

She and Eli are taking their master's degree in one of the best schools in international relations in the country. The school that is also famous for its wide array of high-profile alumni, and practically has become State Department's human resources department.

Moral of the story: I guess American diplomats are not that well-trained, hehehe...