you have to see the waterfalls

We are going to Jajce - a city in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. A city with a castle and a waterfall of its own. We are on a bus. People are smoking Marlboro cigarettes, the smoke is ever present as the title of the book suggests. It burns my throat.

Jergovic, the author and the man leading me on this excursion speaks from the point of view of a child. In a city where I cannot speak the language or understand the cultural differences, I may as well be an infant myself.
I feel unsure of where he is taking me. I want to cry "Are we there yet?". But I fear he may not hear me.

We pass a site where a car has crashed. Jergovic's child narrator comments on what he sees. ‘A glimpse of a mangled Fiat, a hand hanging out of the window’.
I don’t know if this is important, but I make a mental note. Maybe it’s just part of the scenery, maybe it holds greater meaning. I just don’t know. But the suspense is thrilling me…

the navigator