Well, what about programming for Android or iOS? For Android you need Java programming and for iOS (I think) you need Objective-C. What about trying to make your own digital clock. Get a few spare parts and write clock software for it.
The Arduino uses a C-based language called "Arduino". No.
From the arduino website: "the Arduino language is merely a set of C/C++ functions that can be called from your code. Your sketch undergoes minor changes (e.g. automatic generation of function prototypes) and then is passed directly to a C/C++ compiler (avr-g++). All standard C and C++ constructs supported by avr-g++ should work in Arduino. For more details, see the page on the Arduino build process."