Jo'Burg doesn't look or feel like the crime-infested city I read about in online newspapers. Still, almost a decade later, some things do look disturbingly the same. The sprawling informal housing settlements that I remembered were visible from the air during landing. Although adequate housing has been secured for hundreds of thousands of residents since my first visit, it hasn't met the need.

Nobody expected things to change overnight, says a woman in the hotel lobby. A man nearby echos her remarks. They agree that the country's biggest hurdles are poverty, HIV/AIDS and decent educational opportunities for all.

I talk to a few other people informally and catch the scent of something sweet. Spirits are being lifted, they say. Major decisions made thus far by newly-elected President Jacob Zuma, along with countrywide preparations for next year's World Cup, have stirred hope in the hearts of South Africans.

"The white flight -- those whites who left the country years ago because they were afraid of what would happen when blacks got power -- are now starting to come back home," said a middle-age black man.

He adds: "It's really true when I say that there's a lot of hope out there."