More than once I’ve walked up to a counter in a coffee shop and seen the two people working there silently and almost imperceptibly shift places. The one working the counter shifts her glance backwards; the one pouring milk into a jug slides silently forward into place and replaces her at the checkout, smiling nervously. They have switched spots based on who is better adapted at speaking English. All of this happens so fast that it barely announces itself as a decision at all, and I am sure there are people for whom it happens regularly and yet goes completely unnoticed, like a familiar tune playing just under the volume of conscious attention. I smile, keep my eyes relatively low, and order in Korean. This usually causes a flicker of surprise, but nothing more. And then I ask a question. I make a small comment about the weather. And only then does it become clear that the little dance they performed so efficiently was, at least this time, unnecessary. It is worth saying that this experience does not unfold in the same way for everyone. Someone who appears Korean, or simply Asian, w