Right back atcha, fellow lexophile.
Let me start by saying that I think you Yanks have it right.
Counterclockwise is much better than anticlockwise.
Why do I think this? Well, us Brits have counterargument, counterpoint and counterbalance.
Anti-argument and anti-point would be so lame. XD
I've recently been trying to teach myself Arabic. Reading and writing the Arabic script is the easiest aspect of it to learn! XD
I also learnt German at school and would describe myself as intermediate in that language. So my suggestions for interesting words might have an 'exotic' flavour. XD Hope you don't mind none.
Here are are two interesting Arabic words: jameel ('beautiful') and qabeeh ('ugly'). Jameel is easy to pronounce and you're almost smiling as you pronounce it. Qabeeh is harder to pronounce - you have to pronounce 'q' at the back of your throat and you also have to pronounce 'h' at the end of the word. Qabeeh means 'ugly' and it's also an ugly-sounding word.
Here's a favourite German word: Fussgaengerzone.
It means 'pedestrian precinct'.
Let's break it down ... Fussgaenger means someone who goes on foot ('foot-goer') and Zone means area/zone. Pretty neat, huh?