Forget about work and McKinsey for a few weeks? Leave it all behind for a while? I didn't really believe it would come true, realising my dream to learn Arabic. The thought of it—be a student once again, study Arabic somewhere where you really feel close to the heart of the Arabic world—perhaps Yemen, for an intense Arabic language programme.

I had a fabulous experience of life in a wonderfully different world with its own charming struggles and little complications. While away I kept a little journal and updates I sent to my friends back home to keep in touch. Here are some excerpts:

One week gone: I haven't been thinking about work lately and have actually lost my sense of time. Is it Tuesday? Wednesday?...

Two weeks gone: Even in week number two I keep getting lost in the streets of old Sana'a, but I have started to remember more and more places. I have tried many different types of bread and have mastered the names of fruit and vegetables quite well now. I've also started recognising my teacher.

Three weeks gone: I had to write about how I like Yemen and in particular Sana'a for homework. It seems I provided my teacher with endless amusement with the last paragraph about the one thing I didn't like: men spitting in the street all the time. What an advantage I'm visiting during the rainy season and the streets get "cleaned" once a day!

Four weeks gone: Weekend trip with police escort. Ever seen an empty restaurant in the middle of literally nowhere getting completely crowded in about 20 seconds? The news that there were three foreign females eating their lunch spread really quickly! And the size of our police escort needed revisiting at every new checkpoint.

Five weeks gone: A group of eight adventurous female students under the lead of the Arabic professor from Russia, we headed off to Wadi Hadramaut with the night bus. Wadi Hadramaut rewards us with its unique beauty—a highlight being the visit at the Syrian architect's house. We drink tea made of wild roses from Syria on the rooftop of his house while listening to traditional music from Wadi Hadramaut that had been recorded with local musicians in his house.

Other than that I learned more about couscous in my five weeks in Yemen than ever before. Who would have guessed I would find Algerian friends in Sana'a, study with many Moroccans and Tunisians—and that my teacher would have couscous as her favourite dish—even though it is so non-Yemeni!