Keeping up with the Tanakas

Today as Mina and I were preparing for an afternoon downtown, I gave her a clean towel to put into her purse. She said to me, "if there is smoke, I will use it to cover my face!" "Good thinking," I replied, knowing that this was something she had learned at her preschool, where all students must have a hand towel on them at all times and thinking that she was about one thousand times more likely to use the towel to dry her hands after washing since paper towels are hard to come by in Japanese restrooms. However, we decided to take the train line with the station a little farther from our house and as we walked past some fields, a farmer just happened to be burning something near the path. "Look, Mina! Smoke!" She happily got out her towel and covered her satisfied smile. Who needs scouts when your children are part of the Japanese school system?