Petar Svarc is not your typical expat. He is Serbian, which compared to, say, an American, makes him almost Bulgarian. But the community he is mostly part of is neither the Bulgarian, nor the expat - it's the community of graduates and scholars of the American University in Bulgaria (AUBG).

"AUBG is a remarkable oasis of tolerance, diversity and contemporary education, in the heart of the Balkans," Petar says. "And for me personally, this is the place where I met some of the most wonderful people, the experience that made me grow up and is the source of my fondest memories."

"I've spent a quarter of my life in Bulgaria," the young Serbian realises. When he first came to Bulgaria in 1998 to study at AUBG, located in the little south-western town of Blagoevgrad, he hardly thought his life would take such a turn. "We travelled by car, and as we passed the border, everything looked very chaotic, desolate and apocalyptic," he remembers his very first trip to Bulgaria. "Add to this the things I had been told about Bulgaria - mostly prejudices, such as that Bulgaria was a country totally destroyed by communism - and you will understand how depressed I was."

But then he got to Blagoevgrad and the university, and met the people, and his opinion totally changed. "It was mostly the people that did it for me, they are incredibly cordial," Petar says. "We Serbians and the Bulgarians are very much alike," he thinks. "Only, Serbians are much more nationalistic." Not Petar. For one, he speaks Bulgarian almost perfectly. "I tried to learn it as soon as I came to Bulgaria, because it felt stupid to talk to Bulgarians in English," he explains.

Petar is 25 years old and originally from the Serbian town Novi Sad. His father is a Hungarian Jew, his mother he describes as "a mixture of almost all the Slavic nations of Yugoslavia". He himself feels Yugoslavian, and regrets deeply the disintegration of Yugoslavia, but doesn't think such a union can come back into existence. "We will be together again, in the European Union, in about 50 years," he adds with an ironic smile. Then explains: "I am an optimist, and I'd like to think it would happen sooner, but the culture of any nation in the Balkans is such that everything - politics, history, etc. depend on it, and not the other way around".

Petar misses home very much, mostly Novi Sad's unique atmosphere. Maybe it is due to the culture there, that he is a very calm and easy-going young man. "Novi Sad is a very calm place," Petar says. "It offers the best combination of a small town where everybody knows everybody, and the rush of a big city like Sofia." "I wish I could live at the two places simultaneously," Petar says.

Since his graduation in 2002, Petar's been living in Sofia, and his life is still very closely tied to his Alma Mater friends. "I live, work and go out with AUBG-ers," he says. He shares an apartment in Sofia's centre with two other AUBG graduates, both Bulgarian. He earns his living, while continuing to pursue his academic career, by putting to work one of his university majors - Computer Science. At Melon Technologies, a multimedia and design company, created by and staffed mostly with Bulgarian AUBG graduates, Petar helps part-time on projects by producing multimedia presentations and online games, and video editing. "I do many different things, and constantly learn new things; it's very exciting," he says.

A legacy from AUBG is Petar's obsession with theatre. During his studies there, he was in almost every play performed, so after graduation he wanted to perform again. And so he did - with some of his AUBG theatre comrades. The beginning was in January 2004. "We would go to rehearsals after work, tired, and we would leave refreshed, in better spirits," he remembers. The result in mid-April was the play "January" by Iordan Radichkov, performed five times in Blagoevgrad and in Sofia. "We performed mostly in front of our AUBG friends, and we enjoyed it immensely," he says. "I hope we do something again in autumn." Now that he has a break from theatre, Petar relaxes by playing guitar. He rehearses regularly with other friends from AUBG, and the four intend to stage a concert.

A recent discovery for Petar is the club Backstage, where he often goes with his roommates and other AUBG friends to listen to some live American Blues. But, his first choice for a night out is club Alkohol, known to insiders as the AUBG club in Sofia.

Blagoevgrad remains a favourite place for Petar - "To me as an AUBG alumnus it is a place to relax, much like the seaside to most people". Another place he loves in Bulgaria is his girlfriend's villa in the Gabrovo Balkan - in a village of 13 houses, and only a few old people living there. "It's got an amazing atmosphere, I don't think there is a foreigner who wouldn't love it there," Petar says. Also, he loves to just walk around Sofia in the evenings, and discover nice little places. "But then one sees that the place is dirty and un-kempt," he adds with disappointment. "Sofia needs very little, whether money or just some effort, to become a truly beautiful city," he thinks.

Petar continues acquiring fond memories from Bulgaria. The main reason the Serbian is still in Bulgaria, he confesses in the end of the conversation, is his Bulgarian girlfriend of three years, Vera. Of course, she studies at AUBG, and he spends every weekend with her in Blagoevgrad. "Many people have asked me which women are more beautiful - Bulgarian or Serbian; I still have not decided," he grinned.