The Grab Driver Who Spoke French

One of the limited perks of being alive is that sometimes you stumble upon these tiny, sparkling things buried in the great sandyard of misery. You know, like, every now and then, life throws you a soft surprise to nag you into staying interested in the whole being-alive business?

Lately, I came across one of those little hidden gems.

Background story, I’ve been in the mood to add another language to my collection of linguistic adventures. This time it’s French, and my humble goal is to reach A2, the sweet beginner-plus level where you still sound cute when you make mistakes. As usual, I started my language journey in the most 21st-century way possible: self-study, YouTube, and the ever-persistent green owl from Duolingo cheering me on every night like an over-motivated PE teacher. I even paid for Duolingo Plus, because apparently throwing money at my goals makes them feel more legitimate.

My only problem, and it’s a painfully humbling one, is that despite my self-proclaimed linguistic gifts, every time I try to say something in French, it sounds terrible. Like, unspeakably bad. As if my mouth and my brain are locked in an international custody battle over pronunciation. Everything was fine, predictable even, until one random afternoon when Facebook decided to mess with my algorithm, and with it, my ego.

I stumbled upon a video of a Grab driver speaking fluent French. And it wasn't just tourist-level “bonjour, merci” kind of French. This man was eloquent, comfortable, confident, the kind of fluency that makes you double-take. So of course, I went straight to his profile to find out who he was and what kind of sorcery made a Vietnamese Grab driver sound like he grew up in Marseille.

He called himself Davie.

His facebook is full of materials and, surprisingly, Free French Classes. At first, I assumed he was another clever online entrepreneur. Maybe he was using his free videos as a teaser for a paid course. It made sense. I even thought to myself: "Smart move, Davie. Reel them in with the charm, close the deal with the premium tier." But as I dug a little deeper, my skepticism started to crumble. Davie really was offering free French courses. Fully free, open to anyone, with no upsells, no donations, no affiliate links hiding in the fine print. Just pure generosity. It felt almost suspicious in today’s internet climate. Then I found out he wasn’t just a language enthusiast. He's teaching IT in a university. However, in his lessons and emails, he insisted that no one call him teacher.

He preferred just Davie.

In one of the emails he sent us to provide learning materials, he ended the message with a note that caught me completely off guard: "If you want to thank me, please be kind to yourself and to the people around you."

From an email in November

What a nice soul. I couldn’t help but form a theory about this man. Maybe Davie was someone who once carried heavy dreams. Maybe life didn’t go as planned. Maybe something broke along the way. And instead of letting that pain turn him bitter, he chose a quieter kind of redemption. He takes what he knew, even if it no longer fit the life he once imagined, and gives it away freely. It’s just my theory, of course. My poetic brain tends to build backstories where none are confirmed. But I mean, look at his facebook cover:

Góc Tiếng Pháp's facebook cover

There’s something undeniably healing in his energy. So he'd either taken the redpill since the day he was born, or he must have seen his lowest days and learned to live gently to gain that kind of peace. A fellow survivor.

I don't know if he's also a fan of Buddha, but his mindset is deeply Buddhist. Not in the religious sense, but in that still, compassionate way of existing. He doesn’t seem to weight validation or applause. He doesn’t market his kindness as a brand. He simply gives and encourages others to do so.

Later I found out he also publishes French-learning books. And as if that wasn’t enough, he’s actually a PhD candidate. Damn. 

My envy on a Grab driver who speaks better French than I ever will now evolved into a full-blown existential crisis.

Still, envy aside, I honestly hope his little book venture blooms. He truly deserves every bit of success it brings. And if you ever need French-learning materials, do yourself a favor and visit his website here or follow his social media accounts under "Học tiếng Pháp miễn phí với Davie". For better or worst, he does make learning French feel a little more human again.