After graduating Oxford in 2014 with an honours degree in Modern History, Sophia Erickson returned home to the United States to contemplate her future. Faced with crippling student loan debts and after some anxious months waiting tables in her small Massachusetts town, she decided to do something different and took a one-way ticket to China. Working in China allowed her to pay off most of her U.S. student loans while having fun exploring Asia, diving into different cultures, and learning conversational Mandarin. During her two years in Asia she had amazing experiences visiting China from Heilongjiang to Hainan, as well as Myanmar, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore. Sophia uncovered extraordinary international opportunities for liberal arts majors and others dreaming of living and working overseas. In her book she uses her own experiences as the basis for this fun and informative guide for anyone dreaming of living abroad. It's possible to break out of the student loan trap. Going to China can be a great way to do it. The book covers a wide range of topics from the concept of “face” to coffee culture to racism to love to LGBT issues, as well as all of the practicalities readers need to know to get in and get a job. The China Option is a manifesto for recent college grads who want to take control of paying off debt while living stimulating, adventurous lives abroad. Sophia attended high school outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She recently left China and now works for an international public relations firm in the Middle East, where she is researching a new book. You can find out more about her at www.sophiaerickson.com, connect with her via LinkedIn at: https://bit.ly/2IqJxiO or contact her directly at writerickson[at] gmail.com