You know it can't be hard if the clerk can do it. Get a book and a tape. In a couple of years, if we haven't been blown completely off the planet, the Arabic language website will be transparent and you can ask the clerk some pointed questions.
Arabic is one of the most difficult critical languages to learn, we still have a massive deficiency in the U.S. in that regard. I've been learning it for two years, taught by a fluent teacher, and I can attest to the challenge. 90% of my classmates dropped the class after the first semester.