Charlie--Thanks for the great questions! (At least I think this is Charlie...if not, who is this :-))

Had I considered going "Lawrence in Arabia Style" in the traditional garb?

I really was interested in wearing the thobe and bhutra. However, it can be considered disrespectful, so our group is not wearing them. The women in our group must wear the abaya to follow the laws, which are rooted in hundreds of years of tradition and Islam, some Saudi men find it disrespectful or distasteful for foreign men to wear the national dress.

Define culture trunk

Cutlure trunk--Collection of artifacts--art, music, dolls, food, advertisements, currency, hand crafts, metals, etc.--coompiled in a container to be used for providing a hands-on approach to Saudi culture (picture below--pringles, books, games, currency, Pepsi--a few of the items she had in her culture trunk)