But I was made to feel instantly welcome by the great warmth of the people I met. I was drenched in the sunshine of smiles. I was invited to private homes, and, once there, I was never treated as a stranger in their midst. I was fed the cuisine of a multitude of regions. Everywhere I went, people shared their feelings about a nation renewed. Few would venture to predict the future with any certainty, of course; but most people I met held hope. Even those with trepidation tempered it with a belief that with the right leadership South Africa would become a powerhouse of the global community. It was, after all, a new time for a new nation.

It is now almost a decade after the establishment of majority rule in South Africa. I have been in Johannesburg for barely a day on this visit--a journalist dropping in for an event that he couldn't bring himself to miss, the World Summit on Sustainable Development. From my home in New York, I have followed with great interest South Africa's struggle to improve the lot of its 45 million overwhelmingly black and mostly poor people. Like observers everywhere, I have admired the wisdom and values of Nelson Mandela. I have also been impressed with the vision and quiet dignity of Thabo Mbeki, whom I once met when he was still Madiba's deputy. I know that, as with most emerging nations, South Africa has had a rocky time in its political infancy. I know, too, that it has drawn more than its share of international criticism on issues such as HIV/AIDS and domestic crime.

Most of all, though, I know that democracy and free speech have held in this nation. Racial tolerance has also held, in spite of lingering memories of a cruel past. Some of South Africa's lofty initial economic plans may have yet to bear full fruit. But anyone who has had the opportunity to meet with the stewards of national policy--government ministers, local bureaucrats, and legislators in nine provinces--comes away with the impression that, for the most part, these are honorable men and women who are serious about their mandate.

That mandate to consolidate South Africa's political economy and create brighter opportunities for a largely young population burdened by high unemployment deserves the support of the leaders of the international community who've gathered in Johannesburg for the United Nations summit. This summit is as much about South Africa's future as it is about global sustainable development.

A visitor cannot but appreciate the passion and resources the host country has poured into this conference. Look at the legions of smiling volunteers, mostly young people with no personal stake in the summit other than to make outsiders feel good about coming to South Africa. Look, too, at local officials--policemen, bureaucrats--and look at indigenous entrepreneurs--hoteliers, restaurateurs, taxi drivers, shopkeepers--whose good will toward visitors far exceeds the rands they will earn during the talkfest.

This is South Africa's coming-out party on the international stage. World leaders have come here to pay obeisance to the notion of global economic and social equity. But they have also come here--as have the rest of us, journalists, nongovernmental activists, businessmen, scientists--to see for ourselves how one young nation has steadfastly adhered to the idea of freedom, democracy and good will toward all.

And that, as much as anything else at this special moment in South Africa's extraordinary history, deserves to be celebrated.