An Uber ride, a snowy hill, and an unexpected bromance

When Dave Nguyen stepped out of his company Christmas party in downtown Ottawa, he was searching for one thing: an Uber home. What he got instead was a long walk through the snow—and, eventually, a new friend.

• It was late, cold, and peak holiday chaos. After striking out on rides, Dave started walking towardhis destination, half resigned to the trek. 
• Then his phone buzzed: "Your driver is on the way."

That driver was Chance Niyomugabo.

Somewhere between traffic lights and small talk, Dave learned something that stopped him cold. Despite living in Canada for eight years after moving from Rwanda, Chance had never been tobogganing. Not once. No sleds, no hills, no winter wipeouts.

For Dave, that felt like a problem worth fixing.

With two weeks off from teaching martial arts and the holiday spirit doing its thing, Dave sent a follow-up text: "Want to go tobogganing?" A few messages later, they settled on Boxing Day at a nearby hill.

Dave showed up prepared: two borrowed sleds, brand-new snow pants for Chance, and a crash course in Canadian winter rules (gloves and a hat: non-negotiable).

• For Chance, who spends most of the year working—cutting trees in the summer and driving for Uber full time through the winter—it was a rare day of unstructured fun.

They capped the day off with coffee and pastries, even buying a hot chocolate for a kid in line ahead of them.